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THE   ARGONAUTS    OF 
NORTH   LIBERTY 


BY 

BRET   HARTE 


BOSTON   AND   NEW   YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 


Copyright,  1888, 
BY  BRET  HARTE. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge  : 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  0.  He  jghton  &  Co. 


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UNIVERSITY 

OF                   J 

*  .                 .  .»  &.    -7 

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THE  ARGONAUTS  OP  NORTH 
LIBERTY. 


PART  I. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  bell  of  the  North  Liberty  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  had  just  ceased  ring 
ing.  North  Liberty,  Connecticut,  never  on 
any  day  a  cheerful  town,  was  always  bleaker 
and  more  cheerless  on  the  seventh,  when  the 
Sabbath  sun,  after  vainly  trying  to  coax  a 
smile  of  reciprocal  kindliness  from  the  drawn 
curtains  and  half  closed  shutters  of  the  au 
stere  dwellings  and  the  equally  sealed  and 
hard-set  churchgoing  faces  of  the  people,  at 
last  settled  down  into  a  blank  stare  of  stony 
astonishment.  On  this  chilly  March  even- 

164454 


2        THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

ing  of  the  year  1850,  that  stare  had  kindled 
into  an  offended  sunset  and  an  angry  night 
that  furiously  spat  sleet  and  hail  in  the  faces 
of  the  worshippers,  and  made  them  fight 
their  way  to  the  church,  step  by  step,  with 
bent  heads  and  fiercely  compressed  lips,  un 
til  they  seemed  to  be  carrying  its  forbidding 
portals  at  the  point  of  their  umbrellas. 

Within  that  sacred  but  graceless  edifice, 
the  rigors  of  the  hour  and  occasion  reached 
their  climax.  The  shivering  gas  jets  lit  up 
the  austere  pallor  of  the  bare  walls,  and  the 
hollow,  shell-like  sweep  of  colorless  vacuity 
behind  the  cold  communion  table.  The  chill 
of  despair  and  hopeless  renunciation  was  in 
the  air,  untempered  by  any  glow  from  the 
sealed  air-tight  stove  that  seemed  only  to 
bring  out  a  lukewarm  exhalation  of  wet 
clothes  and  cheaply  dyed  umbrellas.  Nor 
did  the  presence  of  the  worshippers  them 
selves  impart  any  life  to  the  dreary  apart 
ment.  Scattered  throughout  the  white  pews, 
in  dull,  shapeless,  neutral  blctches,  rigidly 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.       3 

separated  from  each  other,  they  seemed  only 
to  accent  the  colorless  church  and  the  empti 
ness  of  all  things.  A  few  children,  who  had 
huddled  together  for  warmth  in  one  of  the 
back  benches  and  who  had  become  glutinous 
and  adherent  through  moisture,  were  labo 
riously  drawn  out  and  painfully  picked  apart 
by  a  watchful  deacon. 

The  dry,  monotonous  disturbance  of  the 
bell  had  given  way  to  the  strain  of  a  bass 
viol,  that  had  been  apparently  pitched  to 
the  key  of  the  east  wind  without,  and  the 
crude  complaint  of  a  new  harmonium  that 
seemed  to  bewail  its  limited  prospect  of 
ever  becoming  seasoned  or  mellowed  in  its 
earthly  tabernacle,  and  then  the  singing  be 
gan.  Here  and  there  a  human  voice  soared 
and  struggled  above  the  narrow  text  and  the 
monotonous  cadence  with  a  cry  of  individual 
longing,  but  was  borne  down  by  the  dull, 
trampling  precision  of  the  others'  formal 
chant.  This  and  a  certain  muffled  raking 
of  the  stove  by  the  sexton  brought  the  tern- 


4        THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

perature  down  still  lower.  A  sermon,  in 
keeping  with  the  previous  performance,  in 
which  the  chill  east  wind  of  doctrine  was 
not  tempered  to  any  shorn  lamb  within  that 
dreary  fold,  followed.  A  spark  of  human 
and  vulgar  interest  was  momentarily  kindled 
by  the  collection  and  the  simultaneous 
movement  of  reluctant  hands  towards  their 
owners'  pockets  ;  but  the  coins  fell  on  the 
baize-covered  plates  with  a  dull  thud,  like 
clods  on  a  coffin,  and  the  dreariness  re 
turned.  Then  there  was  another  hymn  and 
a  prolonged  moan  from  the  harmonium,  to 
which  mysterious  suggestion  the  congrega 
tion  rose  and  began  slowly  to  file  into  the 
aisle.  For  a  moment  they  mingled ;  there 
was  the  silent  grasping  of  damp  woollen 
mittens  and  cold  black  gloves,  and  the  whis 
pered  interchange  of  each  other's  names  with 
the  prefix  of  "Brother"  or  "Sister,"  and 
an  utter  absence  of  fraternal  geniality,  and 
then  the  meeting  slowly  dispersed. 

The  few  who  had  waited  until  the  minister 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.        5 

had  resumed  his  hat,  overcoat,  and  overshoes, 
and  accompanied  him  to  the  door,  had  al 
ready  passed  out ;  the  sexton  was  turning 
out  the  flickering  gas  jets  one  by  one,  when 
the  cold  and  austere  silence  was  broken  by  a 
sound  —  the  unmistakable  echo  of  a  kiss  of 
human  passion. 

As  the  horror-stricken  official  turned  an 
grily,  the  figure  of  a  man  glided  from  the 
shadow  of  the  stairs  below  the  organ  loft, 
and  vanished  through  the  open  door.  Be 
fore  the  sexton  could  follow,  the  figure  of  a 
woman  slipped  out  of  the  same  portal,  and 
with  a  hurried  glance  after  the  first  re 
treating  figure,  turned  in  the  opposite  direc 
tion  and  was  lost  in  the  darkness.  By  the 
time  the  indignant  and  scandalized  custo 
dian  had  reached  the  portal,  they  had  both 
melted  in  the  troubled  sea  of  tossing  um 
brellas  already  to  the  right  and  left  of  him, 
and  pursuit  and  recognition  were  hopeless. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  male  figure,  however,  after  mingling 
with  his  fellow-worshippers  to  the  corner  of 
the  block,  stopped  a  moment  under  the  lamp 
post  as  if  uncertain  as  to  the  turning,  but 
really  to  cast  a  long,  scrutinizing  look  to 
wards  the  scattered  umbrellas  now  almost  lost 
in  the  opposite  direction.  He  was  still  gaz 
ing  and  apparently  hesitating  whether  to 
retrace  his  steps,  when  a  horse  and  buggy 
rapidly  driven  down  the  side  street  passed 
him.  In  a  brief  glance  he  evidently  recog 
nized  the  driver,  and  stepping  over  the  curb 
stone  called  in  a  brief  authoritative  voice : 

"Ned!" 

The  occupant  of  the  vehicle  pulled  up  sud 
denly,  leaned  from  the  buggy,  and  said  in  an 
astonished  tone  : 

"  Dick  Demorest  !  Well !  I  declare  ! 
Hold  on,  and  I  '11  drive  up  to  the  curb." 

"  No ;  stay  where  you  are." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.         1 

The  speaker  approached  the  buggy,  jumped 
in  beside  the  occupant,  refastened  the  apron, 
and  coolly  taking  the  reins  from  his  com 
panion's  hand,  started  the  horse  forward. 
The  action  was  that  of  an  habitually  imperi 
ous  man  ;  and  the  only  recognition  he  made 
of  the  other's  ownership  was  the  question : 

"  Where  were  you  going  ?  " 

"Home  —  to  see  Joan,"  replied  the  other. 
"  Just  drove  over  from  Warensboro  Station. 
But  what  on  earth  are  you  doing  here  ?  " 

Without  answering  the  question,  Dem- 
orest  turned  to  his  companion  with  the 
same  good-natured,  half  humorous  authority. 
"Let  your  wife  wait;  take  a  drive  with  me, 
I  want  to  talk  to  you.  She  '11  be  just  as 
glad  to  see  you  an  hour  later,  and  it 's  her 
fault  if  I  can't  come  home  with  you  now.*' 

"  I  know  it,"  returned  his  companion,  in 
a  tone  of  half -annoyed  apology.  "  She  still 
sticks  to  her  old  compact  when  we  first  mar 
ried,  that  she  should  n't  be  obliged  to  receive 
my  old  worldly  friends.  And,  see  here,  Dick, 


8         THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

I  thought  I  'd  talked  her  out  of  it  as  regards 
you  at  least,  but  Parson  Thomas  has  been 
raking  up  all  the  old  stories  about  you  — 
you  know  that  affair  of  the  Fall  River  wi 
dow,  and  that  breaking  off  of  Garry  Spof- 
ferth's  match — and  about  your  horse-racing 
—  until  —  you  know,  she  's  more  set  than 
ever  against  knowing  you." 

"  That 's  not  a  bad  sort  of  horse  you  Ve  got 
there,"  interrupted  Demorest,  who  usually 
conducted  conversation  without  reference  to 
alien  topics  suggested  by  others.  "  Where 
did  you  get  him  ?  He  's  good  yet  for  a  spin 
down  the  turnpike  and  over  the  bridge. 
We  '11  do  it,  and  I  '11  bring  you  home  safely 
to  Mrs.  Blandford  inside  the  hour." 

Blandford  knew  little  of  horseflesh,  but 
like  all  men  he  was  not  superior  to  this  im 
plied  compliment  to  his  knowledge.  He  re 
signed  himself  to  his  companion  as  he  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  doing,  and  Demorest 
hurried  the  horse  at  a  rapid  gait  down  the 
street  until  they  left  the  lamps  behind,  and 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      9 

were  fully  on  the  dark  turnpike.  The  sleet 
rattled  against  the  hood  and  leathern  apron 
of  the  buggy,  gusts  of  fierce  wind  filled  the 
vehicle  and  seemed  to  hold  it  back,  but  Dem- 
orest  did  not  appear  to  mind  it.  Blandford 
thrust  his  hands  deeply  into  his  pockets  for 
warmth,  and  contracted  his  shoulders  as  if  in 
dogged  patience.  Yet,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  tired,  cold,  and  anxious  to  see 
his  wife,  he  was  conscious  of  a  secret  satis 
faction  in  submitting  to  the  caprices  of  this 
old  friend  of  his  boyhood.  After  all,  Dick 
Demorest  knew  what  he  was  about,  and  had 
never  led  him  astray  by  his  autocratic  will. 
It  was  safe  to  let  Dick  have  his  way.  It  was 
true  it  was  generally  Dick's  own  way  —  but 
he  made  others  think  it  was  theirs  too  —  or 
would  have  been  theirs  had  they  had  the  will 
and  the  knowledge  to  project  it.  He  looked 
up  comfortably  at  the  handsome,  resolute 
profile  of  the  man  who  had  taken  selfish  pos 
session  of  him.  Many  women  had  done  the 
same. 


10      THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  Suppose  if  you  were  to  tell  your  wife  I 
was  going  to  reform,"  said  Demorest,  "it 
might  be  different,  eh  ?  She  'd  want  to  take 
me  into  the  church  — '  another  sinner  saved,' 
and  all  that,  eh  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Blandford,  earnestly.  "Joan 
is  n't  as  rigid  as  all  that,  Dick.  What  she's 
got  against  you  is  the  common  report  of  your 
free  way  of  living,  and  that  —  come  now, 
you  know  yourself,  Dick,  that  is  n't  exactly 
the  thing  a  woman  brought  up  in  her  style 
can  stand.  Why,  she  thinks  I  'm  unregen- 
erate,  and  —  well,  a  man  can't  carry  on  busi 
ness  always  like  a  class  meeting.  But  are 
you  thinking  of  reforming  ?  "  he  continued, 
trying  to  get  a  glimpse  of  his  companion's 
eyes. 

"Perhaps.  It  depends.  Now  —  there's 
a  woman  I  know  "  — 

"  What,  another  ?  and  you  call  this  going 
to  reform  ?  "  interrupted  Blandford,  yet  not 
without  a  certain  curiosity  in  his  manner. 

"  Yes  ;  that 's  just  why  I  think  of  reform- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      11 

ing.    For  this  one  is  n't  exactly  like  any  other 
—  at  least  as  far  as  I  know." 

"That  means  you  don't   know   anything 
about  her." 

"  Wait,  and  I  '11  tell  you."  He  drew  the 
reins  tightly  to  accelerate  the  horse's  speed, 
and,  half  turning  to  his  companion,  without, 
however,  moving  his  eyes  from  the  darkness 
before  him,  spoke  quickly  between  the  blasts: 
"I've  seen  her  only  half  a  dozen  times. 
Met  her  first  in  6.40  train  out  from  Boston 
last  fall.  She  sat  next  to  me.  Covered  up 
with  wraps  and  veils ;  never  looked  twice  at 
her.  She  spoke  first  —  kind  of  half  bold, 
half  frightened  way.  Then  got  more  com 
fortable  and  unwound  herself,  you  know,  and 
I  saw  she  was  young  and  not  bad-looking. 
Thought  she  was  some  school-girl  out  for  a 
lark  —  but  rather  new  at  it.  Inexperienced, 
you  know,  but  quite  able  to  take  care  of  her 
self,  by  George !  and  although  she  looked  and 
acted  as  if  she  'd  never  spoken  to  a  stranger 
all  her  life,  did  n't  mind  the  kind  of  stuff  I 


12       THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

talked  to  her.     Rather  encouraged  it;  and 
laughed  —  such  a  pretty  little  odd  laugh,  as 
if  laughing  was  n't  in  her  usual  line,  either, 
and  she  did  n't  know   how   to   manage   it. 
Well,  it  ended  in  her  slipping  out  at  one 
end  of  the  car  when  we  arrived,  while  I  was 
looking  out  for  a  cab  for  her  at  the  other." 
He  stopped  to  recover  from  a  stronger  gust 
of  wind.     "I  —  I  thought  it  a  good  joke  on 
me,  and  let  the  thing  drop  out  of  my  mind, 
although,  mind  you,  she  'd  promised  to  meet 
me  a  month  afterwards  at  the  same  time  and 
place.      Well,  when   the   day  came  I  hap 
pened  to  be  in  Boston,  and  went  to  the  sta 
tion.     Don't  know  why  I  went,  for  I  did  n't 
for  a  moment  think  she  'd  keep  her  appoint 
ment.    First,  I  could  n't  find  her  in  the  train, 
but  after  we  'd  started  she  came  along  out  of 
some  seat  in  the  corner,  prettier  than  ever, 
holding  out  her  hand."     He  drew  a  long  in 
spiration.     "  You  can  bet  your  life,  Ned,  I 
did  n't  let  go  that  little  hand  the  rest  of  the 
journey." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      13 

His  passion,  or  what  passed  for  it,  seemed 
to  impart  its  warmth  to  the  vehicle,  and 
even  stirred  the  chilled  pulses  of  the  man 
beside  him. 

"  Well,  who  and  what  was  she  ?  " 

"  Did  n't  find  out ;  don't  know  now.  For 
the  first  thing  she  made  me  promise  was  not 
to  follow  her,  nor  to  try  to  know  her  name. 
In  return  she  said  she  would  meet  me  again 
on  another  train  near  Hartford.  She  did  — 
and  again  and  again  —  but  always  on  the 
train  for  about  an  hour,  going  or  coming. 
Then  she  missed  an  appointment.  I  was 
regularly  cut  up,  I  tell  you,  and  swore  as  she 
had  n't  kept  her  word,  I  wouldn't  keep  mine, 
and  began  to  hunt  for  her.  In  the  midst  of 
it  I  saw  her  accidentally ;  no  matter  where  ;  I 
followed  her  to  —  well,  that's  no  matter 
to  you,  either.  Enough  that  I  saw  her 
again  —  and,  well,  Ned,  such  is  the  influence 
of  that  girl  over  me  that,  by  George !  she 
made  me  make  the  same  promise  again." 

Blandford,  a  little    disappointed   at   his 


14      THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

friend's  dogmatic  suppression  of  certain  ma 
terial  facts,  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  If  that 's  all  your  story,"  he  said,  "  I 
must  say  I  see  no  prospect  of  your  reform 
ing.  It 's  the  old  thing  over  again,  only  this 
time  you  are  evidently  the  victim.  She's 
some  designing  creature  who  will  have  you 
if  she  has  n't  already  got  you  completely  in 
her  power." 

"  You  don't  know  what  you  're  talking 
about,  Ned,  and  you  'd  better  quit,"  returned 
Demorest,  with  cheerful  authoritativeness. 
"  I  tell  you  that  that 's  the  sort  of  girl  I  'm 
going  to  marry,  if  I  can,  and  settle  down 
upon.  You  can  make  a  memorandum  of 
that,  old  man,  if  you  like." 

"  Then  I  don't  really  see  why  you  want  to 
talk  to  me  about  it.  And  if  you  are  think 
ing  that  such  a  story  would  go  down  for  a 
moment  with  Joan  as  an  evidence  of  your 
reformation,  you  're  completely  out,  Dick. 
Was  that  your  idea?" 

"  Yes  —  and  I  can  tell  you,  you  're  wrong 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      15 

again,  Ned.  You  don't  know  anything  about 
women.  You  do  just  as  I  say  —  do  you  un 
derstand  ?  —  and  don't  interfere  with  your 
own  wrong-headed  opinions  of  what  other 
people  will  think,  and  I  '11  take  the  risks  of 
Mrs.  Blandford  giving  me  good  advice.  Your 
wife  has  got  a  heap  more  sense  on  these 
subjects  than  you  have,  you  bet.  You  just 
tell  her  that  I  want  to  marry  the  girl  and 
want  her  to  help  me  — that  I  mean  business, 
this  time  —  and  you  '11  see  how  quick  she  '11 
come  down.  That 's  all  I  want  of  you.  Will 
you  or  won't  you  ?  " 

With  an  outward  expression  of  sceptical 
consideration  and  an  inward  suspicion  of  the 
peculiar  force  of  this  man's  dogmatic  insight, 
Blandford  assented,  with,  I  fear,  the  mental 
reservation  of  telling  the  story  to  his  wife  in 
his  own  way.  He  was  surprised  when  his 
friend  suddenly  drew  the  horse  up  sharply, 
and  after  a  moment's  pause  began  to  back 
him,  cramp  the  wheels  of  the  buggy  and 
then  skilfully,  in  the  almost  profound  dark- 


16      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

ness,  turn  the  vehicle  and  horse  completely 
round  to  the  opposite  direction. 

"  Then  you  are  not  going  over  the  bridge  ?  " 
said  Blandford. 

Demorest  made  an  imperative  gesture  of 
silence.  The  tumultuous  rush  and  roar  of 
swollen  and  rapid  water  came  from  the  dark 
ness  behind  them.  "  There 's  been  another 
break -out  somewhere,  and  I  reckon  the 
bridge  has  got  all  it  can  do  to-night  to  keep 
itself  out  of  water  without  taking  us  over. 
At  least,  as  I  promised  to  set  you  down  at 
your  wife's  door  inside  of  the  hour,  I  don't 
propose  to  try."  As  the  horse  now  trav 
elled  more  easily  with  the  wind  behind  him, 
Demorest,  dismissing  abruptly  all  other  sub 
jects,  laid  his  hand  with  brusque  familiarity 
on  his  companion's  knee,  and  as  if  the  hour 
for  social  and  confidential  greeting  had  only 
just  then  arrived,  said :  "  Well,  Neddy,  old 
boy,  how  are  you  getting  on  ?  " 

"  So,  so,"  said  Blandford,  dubiously.  "  You 
see,"  he  began,  argumentatively,  "in  my 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      17 

business  there 's  a  good  deal  of  competition, 
and  I  was  only  saying  this  morning  "  — 

But  either  Demorest  was  already  familiar 
with  his  friend's  arguments,  or  had  as  usual 
exhausted  his  topic,  for  without  paying  the 
slightest  attention  to  him,  he  again  de 
manded  abruptly,  "Why  don't  you  go  to 
California?  Here  everything's  played  out. 
That's  the  country  for  a  young  man  like 
you  —  just  starting  into  life,  and  without 
incumbrances.  If  I  was  free  and  fixed  in 
my  family  affairs  like  you  I  'd  go  to-morrow." 

There  was  such  an  occult  positivism  in 
Demorest's  manner  that  for  an  instant  Bland- 
ford,  who  had  been  married  two  years,  and 
was  transacting  a  steady  and  fairly  profita 
ble  manufacturing  business  in  the  adjacent 
town,  actually  believed  he  was  more  fitted 
for  adventurous  speculation  than  the  grimly 
erratic  man  of  energetic  impulses  and  pleas 
ures  beside  him.  He  managed  to  stammer 
hesitatingly : 

"  But  there 's  Joan  —  she  "  — 


18      THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  Nonsense  !  Let  her  stay  with  her  mother ; 
you  sell  out  your  interest  in  the  business, 
put  the  money  into  an  assorted  cargo,  and 
clap  it  and  yourself  into  the  first  ship  out  of 
Boston  —  and  there  you  are.  You  've  been 
married  going  on  two  years  now,  and  a  lit 
tle  separation  until  you  've  built  up  a  business 
out  there,  won't  do  either  of  you  any  harm." 

Blandford,  who  was  very  much  in  love 
with  his  wife,  was  not,  however,  above  put 
ting  the  onus  of  embarrassing  affection  upon 
her.  "You  don't  know  Joan,  Dick,"  he  re 
plied.  "  She  'd  never  consent  to  a  separation, 
even  for  a  short  time." 

"  Try  her.  She 's  a  sensible  woman  —  a 
deuced  sight  more  than  you  are.  You  don't 
understand  women,  Ned.  That 's  what 's  the 
matter  with  you." 

It  required  all  of  Blandford's  fond  memo 
ries  of  his  wife's  conservative  habits,  Puritan 
practicality,  religious  domesticity,  and  strong 
family  attachments,  to  withstand  Demorest's 
dogmatic  convictions.  He  sm'led,  however, 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      19 

with  a  certain  complacency,  as  he  also  re 
called  the  previous  autumn  when  the  first 
news  of  the  California  gold  discovery  had 
penetrated  North  Liberty,  and  he  had  ex 
pressed  to  her  his  belief  that  it  would  offer 
an  outlet  to  Demorest's  adventurous  energy. 
She  had  received  it  with  ill-disguised  satis 
faction,  and  the  remark  that  if  this  exodus 
of  Mammon  cleared  the  community  of  the 
godless  and  unregenerate  it  would  only  be 
another  proof  of  God's  mysterious  provi 
dence. 

With  the  tumultuous  wind  at  their  backs 
it  was  not  long  before  the  buggy  rattled 
once  more  over  the  cobble-stones  of  the  town. 
Under  the  direction  of  his  friend,  Demorest, 
who  still  retained  possession  of  the  reins, 
drove  briskly  down  a  side  street  of  more 
pretentious  dwellings,  where  Blandford  lived. 
One  or  two  wayfarers  looked  up. 

"  Not  so  fast,  Dick." 

"  Why  ?  I  want  to  bring  you  up  to  your 
door  in  style." 


20       THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"Yes  — but  — it's  Sunday.  That's  my 
house,  the  corner  one." 

They  had  stopped  before  a  square,  two- 
storied  brick  house,  with  an  equally  square 
wooden  porch  supported  by  two  plain,  rigid 
wooden  columns,  and  a  hollow  sweep  of  dull 
concavity  above  the  door,  evidently  of  the 
same  architectural  order  as  the  church. 
There  was  no  corner  or  projection  to  break 
the  force  of  the  wind  that  swept  its  smooth 
glacial  surface;  there  was  no  indication  of 
light  or  warmth  behind  its  six  closed  win 
dows. 

"  There  seems  to  be  nobody  at  home,"  said 
Demorest,  briefly.  "  Come  along  with  me  to 
the  hotel." 

"  Joan  sits  in  the  back  parlor,  Sundays," 
explained  the  husband. 

"Shall  I  drive  round  to  the  barn  and 
leave  the  horse  and  buggy  there  while  you  go 
in?"  continued  Demorest,  good-humoredly, 
pointing  to  the  stable  gate  at  the  side. 

"No,   thank  you,"   returnad   Blandford, 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      21 

"  it 's  locked,  and  I  '11  have  to  open  it  from 
the  other  side  after  I  go  in.  The  horse'  will 
stand  until  then.  I  think  I  '11  have  to  say 
good-night,  now,"  he  added,  with  a  sudden 
half-ashamed  consciousness  of  the  forbidding 
aspect  of  the  house,  and  his  own  inhospital- 
ity.  "  I  'm  sorry  I  can't  ask  you  in  —  but 
you  understand  why." 

"  All  right,"  returned  Demorest,  stoutly, 
turning  up  his  coat-collar,  and  unfurling  his 
umbrella.  "The  hotel  is  only  four  blocks 
awav  —  you  '11  find  me  there  to  -  morrow 
morning  if  you  call.  But  mind  you  tell 
your  wife  just  what  I  told  you  —  and  no 
meandering  of  your  own  —  you  hear !  She  '11 
strike  out  some  idea  with  her  woman's  wits, 
you  bet.  Good-night,  old  man ! "  He  reached 
out  his  hand,  pressed  Blandford's  strongly 
and  potentially,  and  strode  down  the  street. 

Blandford  hitched  his  steaming  horse  to  a 
sleet-covered  horse  block  with  a  quick  sigh 
of  impatient  sympathy  over  the  animal  and 
himself,  and  after  fumbling  in  his  pocket 


22      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

for  a  latchkey,  opened  the  front  door.  A 
vista  of  well-ordered  obscurity  with  shadowy 
trestle-like  objects  against  the  walls,  and  an 
odor  of  chill  decorum,  as  if  of  a  damp  but 
respectable  funeral,  greeted  him  on  entering. 
A  faint  light,  like  a  cold  dawn,  broke  through 
the  glass  pane  of  a  door  leading  to  the  kitchen. 
Blandford  paused  in  the  mid-darkness  and 
hesitated.  Should  he  first  go  to  his  wife  in 
the  back  parlor,  or  pass  silently  through  the 
kitchen,  open  the  back  gate,  and  mercifully 
bestow  his  sweating  beast  in  the  stable? 
With  the  reflection  that  an  immediate  con 
jugal  greeting,  while  his  horse  was  still  ex 
posed  to  the  fury  of  the  blast  in  the  street, 
would  necessarily  be  curtailed  and  limited, 
he  compromised  by  quickly  passing  through 
the  kitchen  into  the  stable  yard,  opening  the 
gate,  and  driving  horse  and  vehicle  under 
the  shed  to  await  later  and  more  thorough 
ministration.  As  he  entered  the  back  door, 
a  faint  hope  that  his  wife  might  have  heard 
him  and  would  be  waiting  fo;  him  in  the 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      23 

hall  for  an  instant  thrilled  him ;  but  he  re 
membered  it  was  Sunday,  and  that  she  was 
probably  engaged  in  some  devotional  read 
ing  or  exercise.  He  hesitatingly  opened  the 
back -parlor  door  with  a  consciousness  of 
committing  some  unreasonable  trespass,  and 
entered. 

She  was  there,  sitting  quietly  before  a 
large,  round,  shining  centre-table,  whose 
sterile  emptiness  was  relieved  only  by  a 
shaded  lamp  and  a  large  black  and  gilt 
open  volume.  A  single  picture  on  the 
opposite  wall  —  the  portrait  of  an  elderly 
gentleman  stiffened  over  a  corresponding 
volume,  which  he  held  in  invincible  mort 
main  in  his  rigid  hand,  and  apparently  de 
fied  posterity  to  take  from  him  —  seemed  to 
offer  a  not  uncongenial  companionship.  Yet 
the  greenish  light  of  the  shade  fell  upon 
a  young  and  pretty  face,  despite  the  color 
it  extracted  from  it,  and  the  hand  that  sup 
ported  her  low  white  forehead  over  which  her 
full  hair  was  simply  parted,  like  a  brown 


24     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

curtain,  was  slim  and  gentlewomanly.  In 
spite  of  her  plain  lustreless  silk  dress,  in  spite 
of  the  formal  frame  of  sombre  heavy  horse 
hair  and  mahogany  furniture  that  seemed 
to  set  her  off,  she  diffused  an  atmosphere  of 
cleanly  grace  and  prim  refinement  through 
the  apartment.  The  priestess  of  this  as 
cetic  temple,  the  femininity  of  her  closely 
covered  arms,  her  pink  ears,  and  a  little 
serviceable  morocco  house -shoe  that  was 
visible  lower  down,  resting  on  the  carved 
lion's  paw  that  upheld  the  centre-table, 
appeared  to  be  only  the  more  accented. 
And  the  precisely  rounded  but  softly  heav 
ing  bosom,  that  was  pressed  upon  the  edges 
of  the  open  book  of  sermons  before  her, 
seemed  to  assert  itself  triumphantly  over 
the  rigors  of  the  volume. 

At  least  so  her  husband  and  lover  thought, 
as  he  moved  tenderly  towards  her.  She  met 
his  first  kiss  on  her  forehead;  the  second, 
a  supererogatory  one,  based  on  some  sup 
posed  inefficiency  in  the  firut,  fell  upon  a 


X 

THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     25 

shining  band  of  her  hair,  beside  her  neck. 
She  reached  up  her  slim  hands,  caught  his 
wrists  firmly,  and,  slightly  putting  him  aside, 
said: 

"There,  Edward?" 

"1  drove  out  from  Warensboro,  so  as 
to  get  here  to-night,  as  I  have  to  return 
to  the  city  on  Tuesday.  I  thought  it  would 
give  me  a  little  more  time  with  you,  Joan," 
he  said,  looking  around  him,  and,  at  last, 
hesitatingly  drawing  an  apparently  reluc 
tant  chair  from  its  formal  position  at  the 
window.  The  remembrance  that  he  had 
ever  dared  to  occupy  the  same  chair  with 
her,  now  seemed  hardly  possible  of  cre 
dence. 

"If  it  was  a  question  of  your  travelling 
on  the  Lord's  Day,  Edward,  I  would  rather 
you  should  have  waited  until  to-morrow," 
she  said,  with  slow  precision. 

"But  —  I  —  I  thought  I'd  get  here  in 
time  for  the  meeting,"  he  said,  weakly. 

"And  instead,  you  have  driven  through 


26      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

the  town,  I  suppose,  where  everybody  will 
see  you  and  talk  about  it.  But,"  she 
added,  raising  her  dark  eyes  suddenly  to 
his,  "  where  else  have  you  been  ?  The  train 
gets  into  Warensboro  at  six,  and  it 's  only 
half  an  hour's  drive  from  there.  What  have 
you  been  doing,  Edward?" 

It  was  scarcely  a  felicitous  moment  for 
the  introduction  of  Demorest's  name,  and 
he  would  have  avoided  it.  But  he  reflected 
that  he  had  been  seen,  and  he  was  naturally 
truthful.  "  I  met  Dick  Demorest  near  the 
church,  and  as  he  had  something  to  tell  me, 
we  drove  down  the  turnpike  a  little  way  — 
so  as  to  be  out  of  the  town,  you  know,  Joan 
—  and  —  and"  — 

He  stopped.  Her  face  had  taken  upon 
itself  that  appalling  and  exasperating  calm 
ness  of  very  good  people  who  never  get 
angry,  but  drive  others  to  frenzy  by  the 
simple  occlusion  of  an  adamantine  veil  be 
tween  their  own  feelings  and  their  oppo 
nents'.  "  I  '11  tell  you  all  about  it  after  I  Ve 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     27 

put  up  the  horse,"  he  said  hurriedly,  glad  to 
escape  until  the  veil  was  lifted  again.  "  I 
suppose  the  hired  man  is  out." 

"  I  should  hope  he  was  in  church,  Edward, 
but  I  trust  you  won't  delay  taking  care  of 
that  poor  dumb  brute  who  has  been  obliged 
to  minister  to  your  and  Mr.  Demorest's  Sab 
bath  pleasures." 

Blandford  did  not  wait  for  a  further  sug 
gestion.  When  the  door  had  closed  behind 
him,  Mrs.  Blandford  went  to  the  mantel 
shelf,  where  a  grimly  allegorical  clock  cut 
down  the  hours  and  minutes  of  men  with 
a  scythe,  and  consulted  it  with  a  slight  knit 
ting  of  her  pretty  eyebrows.  Then  she  fell 
into  a  vague  abstraction,  standing  before 
the  open  book  on  the  centre-table.  Then 
she  closed  it  with  a  snap,  and  methodically 
putting  it  exactly  in  the  middle  of  the  top 
of  a  black  cabinet  in  the  corner,  lifted  the 
shaded  lamp  in  her  hand  and  passed  slowly 
with  it  up  the  stairs  to  her  bedroom,  where 
her  light  steps  were  heard  moving  to  and 


28     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

fro.  In  a  few  moments  she  reappeared,  stop 
ping  for  a  moment  in  the  hall  with  the  lighted 
lamp  as  if  to  watch  and  listen  for  her  hus 
band's  return.  Seen  in  that  favorable  light, 
her  cheeks  had  caught  a  delicate  color,  and 
her  dark  eyes  shone  softly.  Putting  the 
lamp  down  in  exactly  the  same  place  as  be 
fore,  she  returned  to  the  cabinet  for  the  book, 
brought  it  again  to  the  table,  opened  it  at 
the  page  where  she  had  placed  her  perfo 
rated  cardboard  book-marker,  sat  down  beside 
it,  and  with  her  hands  in  her  lap  and  her 
eyes  on  the  page  began  abstractedly  to  tear 
a  small  piece  of  paper  into  tiny  fragments. 
When  she  had  reduced  it  to  the  smallest 
shreds,  she  scraped  the  pieces  out  of  her 
silk  lap  and  again  collected  them  in  the 
pink  hollow  of  her  little  hand,  kneeling 
down  on  the  scrupulously  well  -  swept  car 
pet  to  peck  up  with  a  bird-like  action  of  her 
thumb  and  forefinger  an  escaped  atom  here 
and  there.  These  and  the  contents  of  her 
hand  she  poured  into  the  chilly  cavity 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     29 

of  a  sepulchral-looking  alabaster  vase  that 
stood  on  the  etagere.  Returning  to  her  old 
seat,  and  making  a  nest  for  her  clasped  fin 
gers  in  the  lap  of  her  dress,  she  remained 
in  that  attitude,  her  shoulders  a  little  nar 
rowed  and  bent  forward,  until  her  husband 
returned. 

"I've  lit  the  fire  in  the  bedroom  for  you 
to  change  your  clothes  by,"  she  said,  as  he 
entered ;  then  evading  the  caress  which  this 
wifely  attention  provoked,  by  bending  still 
more  primly  over  her  book,  she  added,  "  Go 
at  once.  You  're  making  everything  quite 
damp  here." 

He  returned  in  a  few  moments  in  his 
slippers  and  jacket,  but  evidently  found  the 
same  difficulty  in  securing  a  conjugal  and 
confidential  contiguity  to  his  wife.  There 
was  no  apparent  social  centre  or  nucleus  of 
comfort  in  the  apartment ;  its  fireplace, 
sealed  by  an  iron  ornament  like  a  monu 
mental  tablet  over  dead  ashes,  had  its  func 
tions  superseded  by  an  air-tight  drum  in 


or  THE 
•DIVERSITY 


30      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

the  corner,  warmed  at  second-hand  from  the 
dining-room  below,  and  offered  no  attrac 
tive  seclusion;  the  sofa  against  the  wall 
was  immovable  and  formally  repellent.  He 
was  obliged  to  draw  a  chair  beside  the  table, 
whose  every  curve  seemed  to  facilitate  his 
wife's  easy  withdrawal  from  side-by-side  fa 
miliarity. 

"  Demorest  has  been  urging  me  very 
strongly  to  go  to  California,  but,  of  course, 
I  spoke  of  you,"  he  said,  stealing  his  hand 
into  his  wife's  lap,  and  possessing  himself  of 
her  fingers. 

Mrs.  Blandford  slowly  lifted  her  fingers 
enclosed  in  his  clasping  hand  and  placed 
them  in  shameless  publicity  on  the  volume 
before  her.  This  implied  desecration  was  too 
much  for  Blandford  ;  he  withdrew  his  hand. 

"  Does  that  man  propose  to  go  with  you?  " 
asked  Mrs.  Blandford,  coldly. 

"  No ;  he 's  preoccupied  with  other  matters 
that  he  wanted  me  to  talk  to  you  about," 
said  her  husband,  hesitatingly.  "  He  is  " — 


THE  AR  G  ON  A  UTS  OF  N  OR  TH  LIBERT  Y.  31 

"  Because  "  —  continued  Mrs.  Blandf ord 
in  the  same  measured  tone,  "  if  he  does  not 
add  his  own  evil  company  to  his  advice,  it 
is  the  best  he  has  ever  given  yet.  I  think 
he  might  have  taken  another  day  than  the 
Lord's  to  talk  about  it,  but  we  must  not 
despise  the  means  nor  the  hour  whence  the 
truth  comes.  Father  wanted  me  to  take 
some  reasonable  moment  to  prepare  you  to 
consider  it  seriously,  and  I  thought  of  talk 
ing  to  you  about  it  to-morrow.  He  thinks 
it  would  be  a  very  judicious  plan.  Even 
Deacon  Truesdail "  — 

"Having  sold  his  invoice  of  damaged 
sugar  kettles  for  mining  purposes,  is  con 
verted,"  said  Blandford,  goaded  into  mo 
mentary  testiness  by  his  wife's  unexpected 
acquiescence  and  a  sudden  recollection  of 
Demorest's  prophecy.  "You  have  changed 
your  opinion,  Joan,  since  last  fall,  when  you 
could  n't  bear  to  think  of  my  leaving  you," 
he  added  reproachfully. 

"  I  could  n't  bear  to  think  of  your  joining 


32      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

the  mob  of  lawless  and  sinful  men  who  use 
that  as  an  excuse  for  leaving  their  wives  and 
families.  As  for  my  own  feelings,  Edward, 
I  have  never  allowed  them  to  stand  between 
me  and  what  I  believed  best  for  our  home 
and  your  Christian  welfare.  Though  I  have 
no  cause  to  admire  the  influence  that  I  find 
this  man,  Demorest,  still  holds  over  you,  I 
am  willing  to  acquiesce,  as  you  see,  in  what 
he  advises  for  your  good.  You  can  hardly 
reproach  me,  Edward,  for  worldly  or  selfish 
motives." 

Blandford  felt  keenly  the  bitter  truth  of 
his  wife's  speech.  For  the  moment  he  would 
gladly  have  exchanged  it  for  a  more  illogical 
and  selfish  affection,  but  he  reflected  that  he 
had  married  this  religious  girl  for  the  secu 
rity  of  an  affection  which  he  felt  was  not 
subject  to  the  temptations  of  the  world  —  or 
even  its  own  weakness — as  was  too  often 
the  case  with  the  giddy  maidens  whom  he  had 
known  through  Demorest's  companionship. 
It  was,  therefore,  more  with  a  sense  of  re- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      33 

calling  this  distinctive  quality  of  his  wife 
than  any  loyalty  to  Demorest  that  he  sud 
denly  resolved  to  confide  to  her  the  latter 's 
fatuous  folly. 

"  I  know  it,  dear,"  he  said,  apologetically, 
"  and  we  '11  talk  it  over  to-morrow,  and  it 
may  be  possible  to  arrange  it  so  that  you 
shall  go  with  me.  But,  speaking  of  Demo- 
rest,  I  think  you  don't  quite  do  him  justice. 
He  really  respects  your  feelings  and  your 
knowledge  of  right  and  wrong  more  than 
you  imagine.  I  actually  believe  he  came 
here  to-night  merely  to  get  me  to  interest 
you  in  an  extraordinary  love  affair  of  his.  I 
mean,  Joan,"  he  added  hastily,  seeing  the 
same  look  of  dull  repression  come  over  her 
face,  "  I  mean,  Joan  —  that  is,  you  know, 
from  all  I  can  judge  —  it  is  something  really 
serious  this  time.  He  intends  to  reform. 
And  this  is  because  he  has  become  violently 
smitten  with  a  young  woman  whom  he  has 
only  seen  half  a  dozen  times,  at  long  inter 
vals,  whom  he  first  met  in  a  railway  train, 


34     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

and  whose  name  and  residence  he  don't  even 
know." 

There  was  an  ominous  silence  —  so  hushed 
that  the  ticking  of  the  allegorical  clock  came 
like  a  grim  monitor.  "  Then,"  said  Mrs. 
Blandford,  in  a  hard,  dry  voice  that  her 
alarmed  husband  scarcely  recognized,  "  he 
proposed  to  insult  your  wife  by  taking  her 
into  his  shameful  confidence." 

"  Good  heavens  !  Joan,  no  —  you  don't 
understand.  At  the  worst,  this  is  some  vir 
tuous  but  silly  school-girl,  who,  though  she 
may  be  intending  only  an  innocent  flirtation 
with  him,  has  made  this  man  actually  and 
deeply  in  love  with  her.  Yes  ;  it  is  a  fact, 
Joan.  I  know  Dick  Demorest,  and  if  ever 
there  was  a  man  honestly  in  love,  it  is  he." 

"  Then  you  mean  to  say  that  this  man  — 
an  utter  stranger  to  me  —  a  man  whom  I  've 
never  laid  my  eyes  on  —  whom  I  would  n't 
know  if  I  met  in  the  street  —  expects  me  to 
advise  him — to  —  to"-  She  stopped. 

Blandford  could  scarcely  belie  ^e  his  senses. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     85 

There  were  tears  in  her  eyes  —  this  woman 
who  never  cried;  her  voice  trembled  —  she 
who  had  always  controlled  her  emotions. 

He  took  advantage  of  this  odd  but  oppor 
tune  melting.  He  placed  his  arm  around 
her  shoulders.  She  tried  to  escape  it,  but 
with  a  coy,  shy  movement,  half  hysterical, 
half  girlish,  unlike  her  usual  stony,  moral 
precision.  "  Yes,  Joan,"  he  repeated,  laugh 
ingly,  "but  whose  fault  is  it?  Not  his,  re 
member!  And  I  firmly  believe  he  thinks 
you  can  do  him  good." 

"  But  he  has  never  seen  me,"  she  contin 
ued,  with  a  nervous  little  laugh,  "  and  prob 
ably  considers  me  some  old  Gorgon  —  like  — 
like  —  Sister  Jemima  Skerret." 

Blandford  smiled  with  the  complacency  of 
far-reaching  masculine  intuition.  Ah  !  that 
shrewd  fellow,  Demorest,  was  right.  Joan, 
dear  Joan,  was  only  a  woman  after  all. 

"  Then  he  '11  be  the  more  agreeably  aston 
ished,"  he  returned,  gayly,  "and  Ithinkyow 
will,  too,  Joan.  For  Dick  is  n't  a  bad-look- 


86      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

ing  fellow ;  most  women  like  him.  It 's 
true,"  he  continued,  much  amused  at  the 
novelty  of  the  perfectly  natural  toss  and 
grimace  with  which  Mrs.  Blandford  received 
this  statement. 

"I  think  he's  been  pointed  out  to  me 
somewhere,"  she  said,  thoughtfully,  "  he 's  a 
tall,  dark,  dissipated-looking  man." 

"  Nothing  of  the  kind,"  laughed  her  hus 
band.  "  He 's  middle-sized  and  as  blonde  as 
your  cousin  Joe,  only  he  's  got  a  long  yellow 
moustache,  and  has  a  quick,  abrupt  way  of 
talking.  He  is  n't  at  all  fancy  -  looking  ; 
you  'd  take  him  for  an  energetic  business 
man  or  a  doctor,  if  you  did  n't  know  him. 
So  you  see,  Joan,  this  correct  little  wife  of 
mine  has  been  a  little,  just  a  little  preju 
diced." 

He  drew  her  again  gently  backwards  and 
nearer  his  seat,  but  she  caught  his  wrists  in 
her  slim  hands,  and  rising  from  the  chair  at 
the  same  moment,  dexterously  slipped  from 
his  embrace  with  her  back  towards  him.  "  I 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     37 

do  not  know  why  I  should  be  unprejudiced 
by  anything  you  've  told  me,"  she  said, 
sharply  closing  the  book  of  sermons,  and 
with  her  back  still  to  her  husband,  reinstat 
ing  it  formally  in  its  place  on  the  cabinet. 
u  It 's  probably  one  of  his  many  scandalous 
pursuits  of  defenceless  and  believing  women, 
and  he,  no  doubt,  goes  off  to  Boston,  laugh 
ing  at  you  for  thinking  him  in  earnest ;  and 
as  ready  to  tell  his  story  to  anybody  else  and 
boast  of  his  double  deceit."  Her  voice  had 
a  touch  of  human  asperity  in  it  now,  which  he 
had  never  before  noticed,  but  recognizing,  as 
he  thought,  the  human  cause,  it  was  far  from 
exciting  his  displeasure. 

"  Wrong  again,  Joan  ;  he  's  waiting  here 
at  the  Independence  House  for  me  to  see 
him  to-morrow,"  he  returned,  cheerfully. 
"  And  I  believe  him  so  much  in  earnest  that 
I  would  be  ready  to  swear  that  not  another 
person  will  ever  know  the  story  but  you  and 
I  and  he.  No,  it  is  a  real  thing  with  him ; 
he 's  dead  in  love,  and  it 's  your  duty  as  a 
Christian  to  help  him." 


38     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence.  Mrs. 
Blandford  remained  by  the  cabinet,  method 
ically  arranging  some  small  articles  displaced 
by  the  return  of  the  book.  "Well,"  she 
said,  suddenly,  uyou  don't  tell  me  what 
mother  had  to  say.  Of  course,  as  you  came 
home  earlier  than  you  expected,  you  had 
time  to  stop  there  —  only  four  doors  from 
this  house." 

"Well,  no,  Joan,"  replied  Blandford,  in 
awkward  discomfiture.  "  You  see  I  met  Dick 
first,  and  then  —  then  I  hurried  here  to  you 
—  and  —  and  —  I  clean  forgot  it.  I  'm  very 
sorry,"  he  added,  dejectedly. 

"  And  /  more  deeply  so,"  she  returned, 
with  her  previous  bloodless  moral  precision, 
"  for  she  probably  knows  by  this  time,  Ed 
ward,  why  you  have  omitted  your  usual  Sab 
bath  visit,  and  with  whom  you  were." 

1  But  I  can  pull  on  my  boots  again  and 
run  in  there  for  a  moment,"  he  suggested, 
dubiously,  "if  you  think  it  necessary.  It 
won't  take  me  a  moment." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     39 

"No,"  she  said,  positively;  "it  is  so  late 
now  that  your  visit  would  only  show  it  to  be 
a  second  thought.  I  will  go  myself  —  it  will 
be  a  call  for  us  both." 

"  But  shall  I  go  with  you  to  the  door  ?  It 
is  dark  and  sleeting,"  suggested  Blandford, 
eagerly. 

"  No,"  she  replied,  peremptorily.  "  Stay 
where  you  are,  and  when  Ezekiel  and  Bridget 
come  in  send  them  to  bed,  for  /  have  made 
everything  fast  in  the  kitchen.  Don't  wait 
up  for  me." 

She  left  the  room,  and  in  a  few  moments 
returned,  wrapped  from  head  to  foot  in  an 
enormous  plaid  shawl.  A  white  woollen  scarf 
thrown  over  her  bare  brown  head,  and  twice 
rolled  around  her  neck,  almost  concealed  her 
face  from  view.  When  she  had  parted  from 
her  husband,  and  reached  the  darkened  hall 
below,  she  drew  from  beneath  the  folds  of 
her  shawl  a  thick  blue  veil,  with  which  she 
completely  enveloped  her  features.  As  she 
opened  the  front  door  and. peered  oufc  into 


40     THE  ARG  ON  A  UTS  OF  NOR  Tff  LIBERT  Y. 

the  night,   her   own    husband   would   have 
scarcely  recognized  her. 

With  her  head  lowered  against  the  keen 
wind  she  walked  rapidly  down  the  street  and 
stopped  for  an  instant  at  the  door  of  the 
fourth  house.  Glancing  quickly  back  at  the 
house  she  had  left  and  then  at  the  closed 
windows  of  the  one  she  had  halted  before, 
she  gathered  her  skirts  with  one  hand  and 
sped  away  from  both,  never  stopping  until 
she  reached  the  door  of  the  Independence 
Hotel. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MRS.  BLANDFORD  entered  the  side  door 
boldly.  Luckily  for  her,  the  austerities  of 
the  Sabbath  were  manifest  even  here ;  the 
bar-room  was  closed,  and  the  usual  loungers 
in  the  passages  were  absent.  Without  risk 
ing  the  recognition  of  her  voice  in  an  inquiry 
to  the  clerk,  she  slipped  past  the  office,  still 
muffled  in  her  veil,  and  quickly  mounted  the 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     41 

narrow  staircase.  For  an  instant  she  hesi 
tated  before  the  public  parlor,  and  glanced 
dubiously  along  the  half -lit  corridor.  Chance 
befriended  her  ;  the  door  of  a  bedroom 
opened  at  that  moment,  and  Richard  Dem- 
orest,  with  his  overcoat  and  hat  on,  stepped 
out  in  the  hall. 

With  a  quick  and  nervous  gesture  of  her 
hand  she  beckoned  him  to  approach.  He 
came  towards  her  leisurely,  with  an  amused 
curiosity  that  suddenly  changed  to  utter  as 
tonishment  as  she  hurriedly  lifted  her  veil, 
dropped  it,  turned,  and  glided  down  the 
staircase  into  the  street  again.  He  followed 
rapidly,  but  did  not  overtake  her  until  she 
had  reached  the  corner,  when  she  slackened 
her  pace  an  instant  for  him  to  join  her. 

"  Lulu,"  he  said  eagerly  ;  "  is  it  you  ?  " 

"  Not  a  word  here,"  she  said,  breathlessly. 
"  Follow  me  at  a  distance." 

She  started  forward  again  in  the  direction 
of  her  own  house.  He  followed  her  at  a 
sufficient  interval  to  keep  her  faintly  dis- 


42      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

tinguishable  figure  in  sight  until  she  had 
crossed  three  streets,  and  near  the  end  of 
the  next  block  glided  up  the  steps  of  a  house 
not  far  from  the  one  where  he  remembered 
to  have  left  Blandford.  As  he  joined  her,  she 
had  just  succeeded  in  opening  the  door  with 
a  pass-key,  and  was  awaiting  him.  With  a 
gesture  of  silence  she  took  his  hand  in  her 
cold  fingers,  and  leading  him  softly  through 
the  dark  hall  and  passage,  quickly  entered  the 
kitchen.  Here  she  lit  a  candle,  turned,  and 
faced  him.  He  could  see  that  the  outside 
shutters  were  bolted,  and  the  kitchen  evi 
dently  closed  for  the  night. 

As  she  removed  the  veil  from  her  face  he 
made  a  movement  as  if  to  regain  her  hand 
again,  but  she  drew  it  away. 

"  You  have  forced  this  upon  me,"  she 
said  hurriedly,  "and  it  may  be  ruin  to  us 
both.  Why  have  you  betrayed  me  ?  " 

"  Betrayed  you,  Lulu  —  Good  God !  what 
do  you  mean  ?  " 

She  looked  him  full  in  the  eye,  and  then 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     43 

said  slowly,  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you 
Lave  told  no  one  of  our  meetings  ?  " 

"  Only  one  —  my  old  friend  Blandford, 
who  lives  —  Ah,  yes  !  I  see  it  now.  You 
are  neighbors.  He  has  betrayed  me.  This 
house  is  "  — 

"  My  father's !  "  she  replied  boldly. 

The  momentary  uneasiness  passed  from 
Demorest's  resolute  face.  His  old  self-suf 
ficiency  returned.  "  Good,"  he  said,  with  a 
frank  laugh,  "  that  will  do  for  me.  Open 
the  door  there,  Lulu,  and  take  me  to  him. 
I  'm  not  ashamed  of  anything  I  've  done,  my 
girl,  nor  need  you  be.  I  '11  tell  him  my  real 
name  is  Dick  Demorest,  as  I  ought  to  have 
told  you  before,  and  that  I  want  to  marry 
you,  fairly  and  squarely,  and  let  him  make 
the  conditions.  I  'm  not  a  vagabond  nor  a 
thief,  Lulu,  if  I  have  met  you  on  the  sly. 
Come,  dear,  let  us  end  this  now.  Come  "  — 

But  she  had  thrown  herself  before  him 
and  placed  her  hand  upon  his  lips.  "  Hush  ! 
are  you  mad  ?  Listen  to  me,  I  tell  you  — 


44     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

please  —  oh,  do  —  no  you  must  not !  "  He 
had  covered  her  hand  with  kisses  and  was 
drawing  her  face  towards  his  own.  "  No  — 
not  again,  it  was  wrong  then,  it  is  monstrous 
now.  I  implore  you,  listen,  if  you  love  me, 
stop." 

He  released  her.  She  sank  into  a  chair 
by  the  kitchen-table,  and  buried  her  flushed 
face  in  her  hands. 

He  stood  for  a  moment  motionless  before 
her.  "  Lulu,  if  that  is  your  name,"  he  said 
slowly,  but  gently,  "  tell  me  all  now.  Be 
frank  with  me,  and  trust  me.  If  there  is 
anything  stands  in  the  way,  let  me  know 
what  it  is  and  I  can  overcome  it.  If  it  is  my 
telling  Ned  Blandford,  don't  let  that  worry 
you,  he  's  as  loyal  a  fellow  as  ever  breathed, 
and  I  'm  a  dog  to  ever  think  he  willingly 
betrayed  us.  His  wife,  well,  she  's  one  of 
those  pious  saints  —  but  no,  she  would  not  be 
such  a  cursed  hypocrite  and  bigot  as  this." 

"  Hush,  I  tell  you  !  Will  you  hush,"  she 
said,  in  a  frantic  whisper,  springing  to  her 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     45 

feet  and  grasping  him  convulsively  by  the 
lapels  of  his  overcoat.  "  Not  a  word  more, 
or  I  '11  kill  myself.  Listen  !  Do  you  know 
what  I  brought  you  here  for  ?  why  I  left  my 
—  this  house  and  dragged  you  out  of  your 
hotel?  Well,  it  was  to  tell  you  that  you 
must  leave  me,  leave  here  —  go  out  of  this 
house  and  out  of  this  town  at  once,  to-night ! 
And  never  look  on  it  or  me  again !  There  ! 
you  have  said  we  must  end  this  now.  It  is 
ended,  as  only  it  could  and  ever  would  end. 
And  if  you  open  that  door  except  to  go,  or 
if  you  attempt  to  —  to  touch  me  again,  I  '11 
do  something  desperate.  There  !  " 

She  threw  him  off  again  and  stepped  back, 
strangely  beautiful  in  the  loosened  shackles 
of  her  long  repressed  human  emotion.  It 
was  as  if  the  passion-rent  robes  of  the  priest 
ess  had  laid  bare  the  flesh  of  the  woman 
dazzling  and  victorious.  Demorest  was  fas 
cinated  and  frightened. 

"  Then  you  do  not  love  me,"  he  said  with 
a  constrained  smile,  "  and  I  am  a  fool  ?  " 


46     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  Love  you !  "  she  repeated.    "  Love  you," 
she  continued,  bowing  her  brown  head  over 
her  hanging  arms  and  clasped  hands.  "  What 
then  has   brought  me   to  this?      Oh,"  she 
said  suddenly,  again  seizing  him  by  his  two 
arms,  and  holding  him  from  her  with  a  half- 
prudish,  half-passionate  gesture,  "  why  could 
you  not  have  left  things  as  they  were ;  why 
could  we  not  have  met  in  the  same  old  way 
we  used  to  meet,  when  I  was  so  foolish  and 
so  happy  ?      Why  could  you  spoil  that  one 
dream  I  have  clung  to  ?     Why  did  n't  you 
leave  me  those  few  days  of' my  wretched  life 
when  I  was  weak,  silly,  vain,  but  not  the 
unhappy  woman  I  am  now.    You  were  satis 
fied  to  sit  beside  me  and  talk  to  me  then. 
You  respected  my  secret,  my  reserve.     My 
God !  I  used  to  think  you  loved  me  as  I  lo  /ed 
you  — for  that  !     Why  did  you  break  your 
promise  and  follow  me  here  ?    I  believed  you 
the  first  day  we  met,  when  you  said  there  was 
no  wrong  in  my  listening  to  you;  that  it 
should  go  no  further  ;  that  you  would  never 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     47 

seek  to  renew  it  without  my  consent.  You 
tell  me  I  don't  love  you,  and  I  tell  you  now 
that  we  must  part,  that  frightened  as  I  was, 
foolish  as  I  was,  that  day  was  the  first  day  I 
had  ever  lived  and  felt  as  other  women  live 
and  feel.  If  I  ran  away  from  you  then  it 
was  because  I  was  running  away  from  my 
old  self  too.  Don't  you  understand  me  ? 
Could  you  not  have  trusted  me  as  I  trusted 
you  ?  " 

"  I  broke  my  promise  only  when  you  broke 
yours.  When  you  would  not  meet  me  I  fol 
lowed  you  here,  because  I  loved  you." 

"And  that  is  why  you  must  leave  me 
now,"  she  said,  starting  from  his  out 
stretched  arms  again.  "  Do  not  ask  me 
why,  but  go,  I  implore  you.  You  must 
leave  this  town  to-night,  to-morrow  will  be 
too  late." 

He  cast  a  hurried  glance  around  him,  as  if 
seeking  to  gather  some  reason  for  this  mys 
terious  haste,  or  a  clue  for  future  identifica 
tion.  He  saw  only  the  Sabbath-sealed  cup- 


48     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

boards,  the  cold  white  china  on  the  dresser, 
and  the  flicker  of  the  candle  on  the  partly- 
opened  glass  transom  above  the  door.  "  As 
you  wish,"  he  said,  with  quiet  sadness.  "  I 
will  go  now,  and  leave  the  town  to-night ; 
but  "  —  his  voice  struck  its  old  imperative 
note  —  "  this  shall  not  end  here,  Lulu. 
There  will  be  a  next  time,  and  I  am  bound 
to  win  you  yet,  in  spite  of  all  and  every 
thing." 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  half-frightened, 
half -hysterical  light  in  her  eyes.  "  God 
knows !  " 

"  And  you  will  be  frank  with  me  then, 
and  tell  me  all  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  another  time ;  but  go  now." 
She  had  extinguished  the  candle,  turned  the 
handle  of  the  door  noiselessly,  and  was  hold 
ing  it  open.  A  faint  light  stole  through 
the  dark  passage.  She  drew  back  hastily. 
"  You  have  left  the  front  door  open,"  she 
said  in  a  frightened  voice.  "  I  thought  you 
had  shut  it  behind  me,"  he  returned  quickly. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     49 

"  Good  night."  He  drew  her  towards  him. 
She  resisted  slightly.  They  were  for  an  in 
stant  clasped  in  a  passionate  embrace  ;  then 
there  was  a  sudden  collapse  of  the  light  and 
a  dull  jar.  The  front  door  had  swung  to. 

With  a  desperate  bound  she  darted  into 
the  passage  and  through  the  hall,  dragging 
him  by  the  hand,  and  threw  the  front  door 
open.  Without,  the  street  was  silent  and 
empty. 

"  Go,"  she  whispered  frantically. 

Demorest  passed  quickly  down  the  steps 
and  disappeared.  At  the  same  moment  a 
voice  came  from  the  banisters  of  the  land 
ing  above.  "  Who 's  there  ?  " 

"  It 's  I,  mother." 

4t  I  thought  so.  And  it 's  like  Edward  to 
bring  you  and  sneak  off  in  that  fashion." 

Mrs.  Blandford  gave  a  quick  sigh  of  re 
lief.  Demorest's  flight  had  been  mistaken 
for  her  husband's  habitual  evasion.  Know 
ing  that  her  mother  would  not  refer  to  the 
subject  again,  she  did  not  reply,  but  slowly 


50      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

mounted  the  dark  staircase  with  an  assump 
tion  of  more  than  usual  hesitating  precau 
tion,  in  order  to  recover  her  equanimity. 

The  clocks  were  striking  eleven  when  she 
left  her  mother's  house  and  reentered  her 
own.  She  was  surprised  to  find  a  light  burn 
ing  in  the  kitchen,  and  Ezekiel,  their  hired 
man,  awaiting  her  in  a  dominant  and  nasal 
key  of  religious  and  practical  disapprobation. 
"Pity  you  weren't  tu  hum  afore,  ma'am, 
considerin'  the  doins  that 's  goin'  on  in  per- 
fessed  Christians'  houses  arter  meetin'  on  the 
Sabbath  Day." 

"What's  the  difficulty  now,  Ezekiel?" 
said  Mrs.  Blandford,  who  had  regained  her 
rigorous  precision  once  more  under  the  dec 
orous  security  of  her  own  roof. 

14Wa'al,  here  comes  an  entire  stranger 
axin  for  Squire  Blandford.  And  when  I 
tells  he  war  n't  tu  hum  "  — 

"  Not  at  home  ?  "  interrupted  Mrs.  Bland- 
ford,  with  a  slight  start.  "  I  left  him  here." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     51 

"Mebbee  so,  but  folks  nowadays  don't 
'pear  to  keer  much  whether  they  break  the 
Sabbath  or  not,  trapsen'  raound  town  in  and 
arter  meetin'  hours,  ez  if  't  wor  gin'ral  tranin' 
day  —  and  hez  gone  out  agin." 

"Go  on,"  said  Mrs.  Blandford,  curtly. 

"Wa'al,  the  stranger  sez,  sez  he,  'Show 
me  the  way  to  the  stables,'  sez  he,  and  with 
out  taken'  no  for  an  answer,  ups  and  mean 
ders  through  the  hall,  outer  the  kitchen  inter 
the  yard,  ez  if  he  was  justice  of  the  peace ; 
and  when  he  gets  there  he  sez,  '  Fetch  out 
his  hoss  and  harness  up,  and  be  blamed 
quick  about  it,  and  tell  Ned  Blandford  that 
Dick  Demorest  hez  got  to  leave  town  to 
night,  and  ez  ther  ain't  a  blamed  puritanical 
shadbelly  in  this  hull  town  ez  would  let  a 
hoss  go  on  hire  Sunday  night,  he  guesses 
he  '11  hev  to  borry  his.'  And  afore  I  could 
say  Jack  Robinson,  he  tackles  the  hoss  up 
and  drives  outer  the  yard,  flinging  this  two- 
dollar-and-a-half -piece  behind  him  ez  if  I  wur 
a  Virginia  slave  and  he  was  John  C.  Cal- 


52     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

houn  hisself.  I  'd  a  chucked  it  after  him  if 
it  had  n't  been  the  Lord's  Day,  and  it  inout 
hev  provoked  disturbance." 

"Mr.  Demorest  is  worldly,  but  one  of 
Edward's  old  friends,"  said  Mrs.  Blandford, 
with  a  slight  kindling  of  her  eyes,  "  and  he 
would  not  have  refused  to  aid  him  in  what 
might  be  an  errand  of  grace  or  necessity. 
You  can  keep  the  money,  Ezekiel,  as  a  gift, 
not  as  a  wage.  And  go  to  bed.  I  will  sit 
up  for  Mr.  Blandford." 

She  passed  out  and  up  the  staircase  into 
her  bedroom,  pausing  on  her  way  to  glance 
into  the  empty  back  parlor  and  take  the 
lamp  from  the  table.  Here  she  noticed 
that  her  husband  had  evidently  changed  his 
clothes  again  and  taken  a  heavier  overcoat 
from  the  closet.  Eemoving  her  own  wraps 
she  again  descended  to  the  lower  apartment, 
brought  out  the  volume  of  sermons,  placed 
it  and  the  lamp  in  the  old  position,  and  with 
her  abstracted  eyes  on  the  page  fell  into  her 
former  attitude.  Every  suggestion  of  the  pas- 


OF 

Fg 
THE  ARGONAUTlGT^NORTH  LIBERTY.     53 

sionate,  half -frenzied  woman  in  the  kitchen 
of  the  house  only  four  doors  away,  had  van 
ished  ;  one  would  scarcely  believe  she  had 
ever  stirred  from  the  chair  in  which  she  had 
formally  received  her  husband  two  hours  be 
fore.  And  yet  she  was  thinking  of  herself 
and  Demorest  in  that  kitchen. 

His  prompt  and  decisive  response  to  her 
appeal,  as  shown  in  this  last  bold  and  charac 
teristic  action,  relieved,  while  it  half  piqued 
her.  But  the  overruling  destiny  which  had 
enabled  her  to  bring  him  from  his  hotel  to 
her  mother's  house  unnoticed,  had  protected 
them  while  there,  had  arrested  a  dangerous 
meeting  between  him  and  herself  and  her  hus 
band  in  her  own  house,  impressed  her  more 
than  all.  It  imparted  to  her  a  hideous  tran 
quillity  born  of  the  doctrines  of  her  youth  — 
Predestination!  She  reflected  with  secret 
exultation  that  her  moral  resolution  to  fly 
from  him  and  her  conscientiously  broken 
promise  had  been  the  direct  means  of  bring 
ing  him  there;  that  step  by  step  circum- 


54     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

stances  not  in  themselves  evil  or  to  be  com 
bated  had  led  her  along ;  that  even  her  hus 
band  and  mother  had  felt  it  their  duty  to 
assist  towards  this  fateful  climax !  If  ^Ed 
ward  had  never  kept  up  his  worldly  friend 
ship,  if  she  had  never  been  restricted  and 
compassed  in  her  own;  if  she  had  ever 
known  the  freedom  of  other  girls,  —  all  this 
might  not  have  happened.  She  had  been 
elected  to  share  with  Demorest  and  her  hus 
band  the  effects  of  their  ungodliness.  She 
was  no  longer  a  free  agent;  what  availed 
her  resolutions?  To  Demorest's  imperious 
hope,  she  had  said,  "God  knows."  What 
more  could  she  say?  Her  small  red  lips 
grew  white  and  compressed ;  her  face  rigid, 
her  eyes  hollow  and  abstracted ;  she  looked 
like  the  genius  of  asceticism  as  she  sat  there, 
grimly  formulating  a  dogmatic  explanation 
of  her  lawless  and  unlicensed  passion. 

The  wind  had  risen  to  a  gale  without,  and 
stirred  even  the  sealed  sepulchre  of  the  fire 
place  with  dull  rumblings  and  muffled  moans. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     55 

At  times  the  hot-air  drum  in  the  corner 
seemed  to  expand  as  with  some  pent-up 
emotion.  Strange  currents  of  air  crossed 
the  empty  room  like  the  passage  of  unseen 
spirits,  and  she  even  fancied  she  heard  whis 
pers  at  the  window.  This  caused  her  to  rise 
and  open  it,  when  she  found  that  the  sleet 
had  given  way  to  a  dry  feathery  snow  that 
was  swarming  through  the  slits  of  the  shut 
ter  ;  a  faint  reflection  from  the  already 
whitened  fences  glimmered  in  the  panes. 
She  shut  the  window  hastily,  with  a  little 
shiver  of  cold.  Where  was  Demorest  in  this 
storm?  Would  it  stop  him?  She  thought 
with  pride  now  of  the  dominant  energy  that 
had  frightened  her,  and  knew  it  would  not. 
But  her  husband  ?  —  what  kept  him  ?  It 
was  twelve  o'clock;  he  had  seldom  stayed 
out  so  late  before.  During  the  first  half 
hour  of  her  reflections  she  had  been  relieved 
by  his  absence ;  she  had  even  believed  that 
he  had  met  Demorest  in  the  town,  and  was 
not  alarmed  by  it,  for  she  knew  that  the 


56     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

latter  would  avoid  any  further  confidence, 
and  cut  short  any  return  to  it.  But  why  had 
not  Edward  returned  ?  For  an  instant  the 
terrible  thought  that  something  had  hap 
pened,  and  that  they  might  both  return  to 
gether,  took  possession  of  her,  and  she  trem 
bled.  But  no ;  Demorest,  who  had  already 
taken  such  extreme  measures,  could  not  con 
sistently  listen  to  any  suggestion  for  delay. 
As  her  only  danger  lay  in  Demorest's  pres 
ence,  the  absence  of  her  husband  caused 
her  more  undefinable  uneasiness  than  actual 
alarm. 

The  room  had  become  cold  with  the  dying 
out  of  the  dining-room  fire  that  warmed  the 
drum.  She  would  go  to  bed.  She  neverthe 
less  arranged  the  room  again  with  a  singular 
impression  that  she  was  doing  it  for  the  last 
time  in  her  present  existing  circumstances, 
and  placing  the  lamp  on  the  table  in  the 
hall,  went  up  to  her  own  room.  By  the 
light  of  a  single  candle  she  undressed  herself 
hastily,  said  her  prayers  punctiliously,  and 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     57 

got  into  bed,  with  an  unexpected  relief  at 
finding  herself  still  occupying  it  alone.  Then 
she  fell  asleep  and  dreamed  of  Demorest. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

WHEN  Edward  Blandford  found  himself 
alone  after  his  wife  had  undertaken  to  fulfil 
his  abandoned  filial  duty  at  her  parents' 
house,  he  felt  a  slight  twinge  of  self-re 
proach.  He  could  not  deny  that  this  was 
not  the  first  time  he  had  evaded  the  sterile 
Sabbath  evenings  at  his  mother-in-law's,  or 
that  even  at  other  times  he  was  not  in  ac 
cord  with  the  cold  and  colorless  sanctity  of 
the  family.  Yet  he  remembered  that  when 
he  picked  out  from  the  budding  womanhood 
of  North  Liberty  this  pure  scentless  blossom, 
he  had  endured  the  privations  of  its  sur 
roundings  with  a  sense  of  security  in  inhaling 
the  atmosphere  in  which  it  grew,  and  know 
ing  the  integrity  of  its  descent.  There  was 


58     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

a  certain  pleasure  also  in  invading  this  seclu 
sion  with  human  passion  ;  the  first  pressure 
of  her  hand  when  they  were  kneeling  to 
gether  at  family  prayers  had  the  zest  with 
out  the  sin  of  a  forbidden  pleasure ;  the  first 
kiss  he  had  given  her  with  their  heads  over 
the  family  Bible  had  fairly  intoxicated  him 
in  the  thin,  rarefied  air  of  their  surround 
ings.  In  transplanting  this  blossom  to  his 
own  home  with  the  fond  belief  that  it  would 
eventually  borrow  the  hues  and  color  of  his 
own  passion,  he  had  no  further  interest  in 
the  house  he  had  left  behind.  When  he 
found,  however,  that  the  ancestral  influence 
was  stronger  than  he  expected,  that  the 
young  wife,  instead  of  assimilating  to  his 
conditions,  had  imported  into  their  little 
household  the  rigors  of  her  youthful  home, 
he  had  been  chilled  and  disappointed.  But 
he  could  not  help  also  remembering  that  his 
own  boyhood  had  been  spent  in  an  atmo 
sphere  like  her  own  in  everything  but  its 
sincerity  and  deep  conviction.  His  father 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     59 

had  recognized  the  business  value  of  pla 
cating  the  narrow  tyranny  of  the  respectable 
well-to-do  religious  community,  and  had  be 
come  a  conscious  hypocrite  and  a  popular 
citizen.  He  had  himself  been  under  that 
influence,  and  it  was  partly  a  conviction  of 
this  that  had  drawn  him  towards  her  as 
something  genuine  and  real.  It  occurred  to 
him  now  for  the  first  time,  as  he  looked 
around  upon  that  compromise  of  their  two 
lives  in  this  chilly  artificial  home,  that  it 
was  only  natural  that  she  would  prefer  the 
more  truthful  austerities  of  her  mother's 
house.  Had  she  detected  the  sham,  and  did 
she  despise  him  for  it  ? 

These  were  questions  which  seemed  to 
bring  another  self-accusing  doubt  in  his  own 
mind,  although,  without  his  being  conscious 
of  it,  they  had  been  really  the  outcome  of 
that  doubt.  He  could  not  help  dwelling  on 
the  singular  human  interest  she  had  taken 
in  Demorest's  love  affair,  and  the  utterly 
unexpected  emotion  she  had  shown.  He  had 


60      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

never  seen  her  as  charmingly  illogical,  capri 
cious,  and  bewitchingly  feminine.  Had  he 
not  made  a  radical  mistake  in  not  giving 
her  a  frequent  provocation  for  this  innocent 
emotion  —  in  fact,  in  not  taking  her  out  into 
a  world  of  broader  sympathies  and  experi 
ences  ?  What  a  household  they  might  have 
had  —  if  necessary  in  some  other  town  — 
away  from  those  cramped  prejudices  and 
limitations !  What  friends  she  might  have 
been  with  Dick  and  his  other  worldly  ac 
quaintances;  what  social  pleasures  —  guilt 
less  amusements  for  her  pure  mind  —  in 
theatres,  parties,  and  concerts !  Would  she 
have  objected  to  them  ?  —  had  he  ever  seri 
ously  proposed  them  to  her?  No!  if  she 
had  objected  there  would  have  been  time 
enough  to  have  made  this  present  compro 
mise  ;  she  would  have  at  least  respected  and 
understood  his  sacrifice  —  and  his  friends. 

Even  the  artificial  externals  of  his  house 
hold  had  never  before  so  visibly  impressed 
him.  Now  that  she  was  no  longer  in  the 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     61 

room  it  did  not  even  bear  a  trace  of  her 
habitation,  it  certainly  bore  no  suggestion  of 
his  own.  Why  had  he  bought  that  hideous 
horse-hair  furniture  ?  To  remind  her  of  the 
old  provincial  heirlooms  of  her  father's  sit 
ting-room.  Did  it  remind  her  of  it  ?  The 
stiff  and  stony  emptiness  of  this  room  had 
been  fashioned  upon  the  decorous  respecta 
bility  of  his  own  father's  parlor  —  in  which 
his  father,  who  usually  spent  his  slippered 
leisure  in  the  family  sitting-room,  never 
entered  except  on  visits  from  the  minister. 
It  had  chilled  his  own  youthful  soul  —  why 
had  he  perpetuated  it  here  ? 

He  could  only  answer  these  questions  by 
moodily  wandering  about  the  house,  and  re 
gretting  he  had  not  gone  with  her.  After  a 
vain  attempt  to  establish  social  and  domestic 
relations  with  the  hot-air  drum  by  putting 
his  feet  upon  it  —  after  an  equally  futile  at 
tempt  to  extract  interest  from  the  book  of 
sermons  by  opening  its  pages  at  random  — 
he  glanced  at  the  clock  and  suddenly  re- 


6  2  THE  AR  G  ON  A  UTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERT  Y. 

solved  to  go  and  fetch  her.  It  would  remind 
him  of  the  old  times  when  he  used  to  accom 
pany  her  from  church,  and,  after  her  parents 
had  retired,  spend  a  blissful  half -hour  alone 
with  her.  With  what  a  mingling  of  fear 
and  childish  curiosity  she  used  to  accept  his 
equally  timid  caresses !  Yes,  he  would  go 
and  fetch  her  ;  and  he  would  recall  it  to  her 
in  a  whisper  while  they  were  there.  Filled 
with  this  idea,  when  he  changed  his  clothes 
again  he  put  on  a  certain  heavy  beaver  over 
coat,  on  whose  shaggy  sleeve  her  little  hand 
had  so  often  rested  when  he  escorted  her 
from  meeting ;  and  he  even  selected  the  gray 
muffler  she  had  knit  for  him  in  the  old  ante 
nuptial  days.  It  was  lying  in  the  half- 
opened  drawer  from  where  she  had  not  long 
before  taken  her  disguising  veil. 

It  was  still  blowing  in  sudden,  capricious 
gusts ;  and  when  he  opened  the  front  door 
the  wind  charged  fiercely  upon  him,  as  if 
to  drive  him  back.  When  he  had  finally 
forced  his  way  into  the  street,  a  return  cur- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     63 

rent  closed  the  door  as  suddenly  and  sharply 
behind  him  as  if  it  had  ejected  him  from  his 
home  for  ever. 

He  reached  the  fourth  house  quickly,  and 
as  quickly  ran  up  the  steps  ;  his  hand  was 
upon  the  bell  when  his  eye  suddenly  caught 
sight  of  his  wife's  pass-key  still  in  the  lock. 
She  had  evidently  forgotten  it.  Here  was 
a  chance  to  mischievously  banter  that  habit 
ually  careful  little  woman !  He  slipped  it 
into  his  pocket  and  quietly  entered  the  dark 
but  perfectly  familiar  hall.  He  reached  the 
staircase  without  a  stumble  and  began  to 
ascend  softly.  Halfway  up  he  heard  the 
sound  of  his  wife's  hurried  voice  and  another 
that  startled  him.  He  ascended  hastily  two 
steps,  which  brought  him  to  the  level  of  the 
half -opened  transom  of  the  kitchen.  A  candle 
was  burning  on  the  kitchen  table ;  he  could 
see  everything  that  passed  in  the  room  ;  he 
could  hear  distinctly  every  word  that  was  ut 
tered. 

He  did  not  utter  a  cry  or  sound ;  he  did 


64      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

not  even  tremble.  He  remained  so  rigid 
and  motionless,  clutching  the  banisters  with 
his  stiffened  fingers,  that  when  he  did  at 
tempt  to  move,  all  life,  as  well  as  all  that 
had  made  life  possible  to  him,  seemed  to 
have  died  from  him  for  ever.  There  was  no 
nervous  illusion,  no  dimming  of  his  senses ; 
he  saw  everything  with  a  hideous  clarity  of 
perception.  By  some  diabolical  instantane 
ous  photography  of  the  brain,  little  actions, 
peculiarities,  touches  of  gesture,  expression 
and  attitude  never  before  noted  by  him  in 
his  wife,  were  clearly  fixed  and  bitten  in 
his  consciousness.  He  saw  the  color  of  his 
friend's  overcoat,  the  reddish  tinge  of  his 
wife's  brown  hair,  till  then  unnoticed  ;  in 
that  supreme  moment  he  was  aware  of  a 
sudden  likeness  to  her  mother ;  but  more  ter 
rible  than  all,  there  seemed  to  be  a  nameless 
sympathetic  resemblance  that  the  guilty  pair 
had  to  each  other  in  gesture  and  movement 
as  of  some  unhallowed  relationship  beyond 
his  ken.  He  knew  not  how  long  he  stood 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     65 

there    without    breath,    without    reflection, 
without    one    connected    thought.     He    saw 
her  suddenly  put  her  hand  on  the  handle  of 
the  door.    He  knew  that  in  another  moment 
they   would  pass    almost    before   him.     He 
made  a  convulsive  effort  to  move,  with  an 
inward   cry  to   God    for  support,    and   suc 
ceeded  in  staggering  with  outstretched  palms 
against  the  wall,   down   the   staircase,  and 
blindly  forward  through  the  hall  to  the  front 
door.     As  yet  he  had  been  able  to  formu 
late  only  one  idea — to  escape  before  them, 
for  it  seemed  to  him  that  their  contact  meant 
the  ruin  of  them  both,  of  that  house,  of  all 
that  was  near  to  him  —  a  catastrophe  that 
struck  blindly  at  his  whole  visible  world.    He 
had  reached  the  door  and  opened  it  at  the 
moment  that  the  handle  of  the  kitchen-door 
was  turned.     He  mechanically  fell  back  be 
hind  the  open  door  that  hid  him,  while  it 
let  the  cruel  light  glimmer  for  a  moment  on 
their  clasped  figures.    The  door  slipped  from 
his  nerveless  fingers  and   swung  to  with  a 


66     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

dull  sound.  Crouching  still  in  the  corner, 
he  heard  the  quick  rush  of  hurrying  feet  in 
the  darkness,  saw  the  door  open  and  Dem- 
orest  glide  out  —  saw  her  glance  hurriedly 
after  him,  close  the  door,  and  involve  herself 
and  him  in  the  blackness  of  the  hall.  Her 
dress  almost  touched  him  in  his  corner  ;  he 
could  feel  the  near  scent  of  her  clothes,  and 
the  air  stirred  by  her  figure  retreating  towards 
the  stairs  ;  could  hear  the  unlocking  of  a  door 
above  and  the  voice  of  her  mother  from  the 
landing,  his  wife's  reply,  the  slow  fading  of 
her  footsteps  on  the  stairs  and  overhead,  the 
closing  of  a  door,  and  all  was  quiet  again. 
Still  stooping,  he  groped  for  the  handle  of 
the  door,  opened  it,  and  the  next  moment 
reeled  like  a  drunken  man  down  the  steps 
into  the  street. 

It  was  well  for  him  that  a  fierce  onset 
of  wind  and  sleet  at  that  instant  caught  him 
savagely  —  stirred  his  stagnated  blood  into 
action,  and  beat  thought  once  more  into  his 
brain.  He  had  mechanically  turned  towards 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     67 

his  own  home  ;  his  first  effort  of  recovering 
will  hurried  him  furiously  past  it  and  into 
a  side  street.  He  walked  rapidly,  but  un- 
deviatingly  on  to  escape  observation  and  se 
cure  some  solitude  for  his  returning  thoughts. 
Almost  before  he  knew  it  he  was  in  the  open 
fields. 

The  idea  of  vengeance  had  never  crossed 
his  mind.  He  was  neither  a  physical  nor  a 
moral  coward,  but  he  had  never  felt  the 
merely  animal  fury  of  disputed  animal  pos 
session  which  the  world  has  chosen  to  recog 
nize  as  a  proof  of  outraged  sentiment,  nor 
had  North  Liberty  accepted  the  ethics  that  an 
exchange  of  shots  equalized  a  transferred  af 
fection.  His  love  had  been  too  pure  and  too 
real  to  be  moved  like  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
to  seek  in  one  brutal  passion  compensation 
for  another.  Killing  —  what  was  there  to 
kill  ?  All  that  he  had  to  live  for  had  been 
already  slain.  With  the  love  that  was  in 
him  —  in  them  —  already  dead  at  his  feet, 
what  was  it  to  him  whether  these  two  hollow 


68      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

lives  moved  on  and  passed  him,  or  mingled 
their  emptiness  elsewhere.  Only  let  them 
henceforth  keep  out  of  his  way  I 

For  in  his  first  feverish  flow  of  thought 
—  the  reaction  to  his  benumbed  will  within 
and  the  beating  sleet  without,  he  believed 
Demorest  as  treacherous  as  his  wife.  He 
recalled  his  sudden  and  unexpected  intru 
sion  into  the  buggy  only  a  few  hours  before, 
his  mysterious  confidences,  his  assurance  of 
Joan's  favorable  reception  of  his  secret,  and 
her  consent  to  the  Californian  trip.  What 
had  all  this  meant  if  not  that  Demorest  was 
using  him,  the  husband,  to  assist  his  in 
trigue,  and  carry  the  news  of  his  presence  in 
the  town  to  her?  And  this  boldness,  this 
assurance,  this  audacity  of  conception  was 
like  Demorest!  While  only  certain  pas 
sages  of  the  guilty  meeting  he  had  just  seen 
and  overheard  were  distinctly  impressed  on 
his  mind,  he  remembered  now,  with  hideous 
and  terrible  clearness,  all  that  had  gone 
before.  It  was  part  of  the  disturbed  and 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      69 

unequal  exaltation  of  his  faculties  that  he 
dwelt  more  upon  this  and  his  wife's  previous 
deceit  and  manifest  hypocrisy,    than   upon 
the  actual  evidence  he  had  witnessed  of  her 
unfaithfulness.     The    corroboration   of    the 
fact  was  stronger  to  him  than  the  fact  it 
self.     He  understood  the  coldness,  the  un- 
congeniality   now  —  the  simulated   increase 
of  her  aversion  to  Demorest  — her  journeys 
to  Boston  and  Hartford  to  see  her  relatives, 
her  acquiescence  to  his  frequent  absences; 
not  an  incident,  not  a  characteristic  of  her 
married  life  was  inconsistent  with  her  guilt 
and  her  deceit.     He  went  even  back  to  her 
maidenhood :  how  did  he  know  this  was  not 
the  legitimate  sequence  of  other  secret  school 
girl  escapades.    The  bitter  worldly  light  that 
had  been  forced  upon  his  simple  ingenuous 
nature  had  dazzled  and  blinded  him.     He 
passed  from  fatuous  credulity  to  equally  fat 
uous  distrust. 

He  stopped  suddenly  with  the  roaring  of 
water  before  him.     In  the  furious  following 


70      THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

of  his  rapid  thought  through  storm  and 
darkness  he  had  come,  he  knew  not  how, 
upon  the  bank  of  the  swollen  river,  whose 
endangered  bridge  Demorest  had  turned 
from  that  evening.  A  few  steps  more  and 
he  would  have  fallen  into  it.  He  drew 
nearer  and  looked  at  it  with  vague  curiosity. 
Had  he  come  there  with  any  definite  inten 
tion  ?  The  thought  sobered  without  frighten 
ing  him.  There  was  always  that  culmina 
tion  possible,  and  to  be  considered  coolly. 

He  turned  and  began  to  retrace  his  steps. 
On  his  way  thither  he  had  been  fighting  the 
elements  step  by  step  ;  now  they  seemed  to 
him  to  have  taken  possession  of  him  and 
were  hurrying  him  quickly  away.  But 
where  ?  and  to  what  ?  He  was  always  think 
ing  of  the  past.  He  had  wandered  he  knew 
not  how  long,  always  thinking  of  that.  It 
was  the  future  he  had  to  consider.  What  was 
to  be  done? 

He  had  heard  of  such  cases  before;  he 
had  read  of  them  in  newspapers  and  talked 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      71 

of  them  with  cold  curiosity.  But  they  were 
of  worldly,  sinful  people,  of  dissolute  men 
whose  characters  he  could  not  conceive—  of 
silly,  vain,  frivolous,  and  abandoned  women 
whom  he  had  never  even  met.  But  Joan  - 
O  God !  It  was  the  first  time  since  his  mute 
prayer  on  the  staircase  that  the  Divine  name 
had  been  wrested  from  his  lips.  It  came 
with  his  wife's  —  and  his  first  tears  !  But 
the  wind  swept  the  one  away  and  dried  the 
others  upon  his  hot  cheeks. 

It  had  ceased  to  rain,  and  the  wind  which 
was  still  high  had  shifted  more  to  the  north 
and  was  bitterly  cold.  He  could  feel  the 
roadway  stiffening  under  his  feet.  When 
he  reached  the  pavement  of  the  outskirts 
once  more  he  was  obliged  to  take  the  middle 
of  the  street,  to  avoid  the  treacherous  films 
of  ice  that  were  beginning  to  glaze  the  side 
walks.  Yet  this  very  inclemency,  added  to 
the  usual  Sabbath  seclusion,  had  left  the 
streets  deserted.  He  was  obliged  to  proceed 
more  slowly,  but  he  met  no  one  and  could 


72      TEE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

pursue  his  bewildering  thoughts  unchecked. 
As  he  passed  between  the  lines  of  cold, 
colorless  houses,  from  which  all  light  and 
life  had  vanished,  it  seemed  to  him  that 
their  occupants  were  dead  as  his  love,  or 
had  fled  their  ruined  houses  as  he  had.  Why 
should  he  remain  ?  Yet  what  was  his  duty 
now  as  a  man  —  as  a  Christian  ?  His  eye 
fell  on  the  hideous  fasade  of  the  church  he 
was  passing  —  her  church !  He  gave  a  bit 
ter  laugh  and  stumbled  on  again. 

With  one  of  the  gusts  he  fancied  he  heard 
a  familiar  sound  —  the  rattling  of  buggy 
wheels  over  the  stiffening  road.  Or  was  it 
merely  the  fanciful  echo  of  an  idea  that  only 
at  that  moment  sprung  up  in  his  mind  ?  If 
it  was  real  it  came  from  the  street  parallel 
with  the  one  he  was  in.  Who  could  be  driv 
ing  out  at  this  time  ?  what  other  buggy  than 
his  own  could  be  found  to  desecrate  this 
Christian  Sabbath  ?  An  irresistible  thought 
impelled  him  at  the  risk  of  recognition  to 
quicken  his  pace  and  turn  the  corner  as 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     73 

Richard  Demorest  drove  up  to  the  Indepen 
dence  Hotel,  sprang  from  his  buggy,  throw 
ing  the  reins  over  the  dashboard  and  disap 
peared  into  the  hotel ! 

Blandford  stood  still,  but  for  an  instant 
only.  He  had  been  wandering  for  an.  hour 
aimlessly,  hopelessly,  without  consecutive 
idea,  coherent  thought  or  plan  of  action ; 
without  the  faintest  inspiration  or  sugges 
tion  of  escape  from  his  bewildering  torment, 
without  —  he  had  begun  to  fear  —  even  the 
power  to  conceive  or  the  will  to  execute ; 
when  a  wild  idea  flashed  upon  him  with  the 
rattle  of  his  buggy  wheels.  And  even  as 
Demorest  disappeared  into  the  hotel,  he  had 
conceived  his  plan  and  executed  it.  He 
crossed  the  street  swiftly,  leaped  into  his 
buggy,  lifted  the  reins  and  brought  down 
the  whip  simultaneously,  and  the  next  in 
stant  was  dashing  down  the  street  in  the 
direction  of  the  Warensboro  turnpike.  So 
sudden  was  the  action  that  by  the  time  the 
astonished  hall  porter  had  rushed  into  the 


74     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

street,  horse  and  buggy  had  already  vanished 
in  the  darkness. 

Presently  it  began  to  snow.  So  lightly 
at  first,  that  it  seemed  a  mere  passing  whis 
per  to  the  ear,  the  brush  of  some  viewless  in 
sect  upon  the  cheek,  or  the  soft  tap  of  unseen 
fingers  on  the  shoulders.  But  by  the  time 
the  porter  returned  from  his  hopeless  and 
invisible  chase  of  the  "runaway,"  he  came 
in  out  of  a  swarming  cloud  of  whirling 
flakes,  blinded  and  whitened.  There  was  a 
hurried  consultation  with  the  landlord,  the 
exhibition  of  much  imperious  energy  and 
some  bank-notes  from  Demorest,  and  with 
a  glance  at  the  clock  that  marked  the  expir 
ing  limit  of  the  Puritan  Sabbath,  the  land 
lord  at  last  consented.  By  the  time  the 
falling  snow  had  muffled  the  street  from  the 
indiscreet  clamor  of  Sabbath-breaking  hoofs, 
the  landlord's  noiseless  sledge  was  at  the 
door  and  Demorest  had  departed. 

The  snow  fell  all  that  night ;  with  fierce 
gusts  of  wind  that  moaned  in  the  chimneys 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      75 

of  North  Liberty  and  sorely  troubled  the 
Sabbath  sleep  of  its  decorous  citizens ;  with 
deep  passionless  silences,  none  the  less  fate 
ful,  that  softly  precipitated  a  spotless  mantle 
of  merciful  obliteration  equally  over  their 
precise  or  their  straying  footprints,  that 
would  have  done  them  good  to  heed  and  to 
remember  ;  and  when  morning  broke  upon 
a  world  of  week-day  labor,  it  was  covered 
as  far  as  their  eyes  could  reach  as  with  a 
clear  and  unwritten  tablet,  on  which  they 
might  record  their  lives  anew.  Near  the 
wreck  of  the  broken  bridge  on  the  Warens- 
boro  turnpike  an  overturned  buggy  lay  im 
bedded  in  the  drift  and  debris  of  the  river 
hurrying  silently  towards  the  sea,  and  a 
horse  with  fragments  of  broken  and  icy  har 
ness  still  clinging  to  him  was  found  standing 
before  the  stable-door  of  Edward  Blandford. 
But  to  any  further  knowledge  of  the  fate  of 
its  owner  North  Liberty  awoke  never  again. 


PAKT  II. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  last  note  of  the  Angelas  had  just 
rung  out  of  the  crumbling  fissures  in  the 
tower  of  the  mission  chapel  of  San  Buena 
ventura.  The  sun  which  had  beamed  that 
day  and  indeed  every  day  for  the  whole  dry 
season  over  the  red-tiled  roofs  of  that  old 
and  happily  ventured  pueblo,  seemed  to 
broaden  to  a  smile  as  it  dipped  below  the 
horizon,  as  if  in  undiminished  enjoyment 
of  its  old  practical  joke  of  suddenly  plung 
ing  the  Southern  California  coast  in  dark 
ness  without  any  preliminary  twilight.  The 
olive  and  fig  trees  at  once  lost  their  char 
acteristic  outlines  in  formless  masses  of 
shadow ;  only  the  twisted  trunks  of  the  old 
pear-trees  in  the  mission  garden  retained 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      77 

their  grotesque  shapes  and  became  gruesome 
in  the  gathering  gloom.  The  encircling 
pines  beyond  closed  up  their  serried  files ;  a 
cool  breeze  swept  down  from  the  coast  range 
and  passing  through  them  sent  their  day 
long  heated  spices  through  the  town. 

If  there  was  any  truth  in  the  local  belief 
that  the  pious  incantation  of  the  Angelus 
bell  had  the  power  of  excluding  all  evil  in 
fluence  abroad  at  that  perilous  hour  within 
its  audible  radius,  and  comfortably  keep 
ing  all  unbelieving  wickedness  at  a  distance, 
it  was  presumably  ineffective  as  regarded 
the  innovating  stage-coach  from  Monterey 
that  twice  a  week  at  that  hour  brought  its 
question-asking,  revolver-persuading  and  for 
tune-seeking  load  of  passengers  through 
the  sleepy  Spanish  town.  On  the  night  of 
the  3d  of  August,  1856,  it  had  not  only 
brought  but  set  down  at  the  Posada  one  of 
those  passengers.  It  was  a  Mr.  Ezekiel 
Corwin,  formerly  known  to  these  pages  as 
"hired  man"  to  the  late  Squire  Blandford, 


78      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

of  North  Liberty,  Connecticut,  but  now  a 
shrewd,  practical,  self-sufficient,  and  self-as 
serting  unit  of  the  more  cautious  later  Cali- 
fornian  immigration.  As  the  stage  rattled 
away  again  with  more  or  less  humorous  and 
open  disparagement  of  the  town  and  the 
Posada  from  its  "  outsiders,"  he  lounged 
with  lazy  but  systematic  deliberation  towards 
Mateo  Morez,  the  proprietor. 

"  I  guess  that  some  of  your  folks  here 
couldn't  direct  me  to  Dick  Demorest's 
house,  could  ye  ?  " 

The  Senor  Mateo  Morez  was  at  once  per 
plexed  and  pained.  Pained  at  the  igno 
rance  thus  forced  upon  him  by  a  caballero ; 
perplexed  as  to  its  intention.  Between  the 
two  he  smiled  apologetically  but  gravely, 
and  said,  "  No  sabe,  Senor.  I  'ave  not  un 
derstood." 

"  No  more  hev  I,"  returned  Ezekiel,  with 
patronizing  recognition  of  his  obtuseness. 
"  I  guess  ez  heow  you  ain't  much  on  Ameri 
can.  You  folks  orter*  learn  the  language 
if  you  kalkilate  to  keep  a  hotel." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     79 

But  the  momentary  vision  of  a  waistless 
woman  with  a  shawl  gathered  over  her  head 
and  shoulders  at  the  back  door  attracted 
his  attention.  She  said  something  to  Ma- 
teo  in  Spanish,  and  the  yellowish-white  of 
Mateo's  eyes  glistened  with  intelligent  com 
prehension. 

"  Ah,  posiblemente ;  it  is  Don  Kicardo 
Demorest  you  wish  ?  " 

Mr.  Ezekiel's  face  and  manner  expressed 
a  mingling  of  grateful  curiosity  and  some 
scorn  at  the  discovery.  "  Wa'al,"  he  said, 
looking  around  as  if  to  take  the  entire  Po 
sada  into  his  confidence,  "  way  up  in  North 
Liberty,  where  I  kem  from,  he  was  allus 
known  as  Dick  Demorest,  and  did  n't  tack 
any  f orrin  titles  to  his  name.  Et  would  n't 
hev  gone  down  there,  I  reckon,  'mongst  free- 
born  Merikiii  citizens,  no  more 'n  aliases 
would  in  court  —  and  I  kinder  guess  for  the 
same  reason.  But  folks  get  peart  and  sassy 
when  they  're  way  from  hum,  and  put  on  ez 
many  airs  as  a  buck  nigger.  And  so  he 
calls  hisself  Don  Ricardo  here,  does  he  ?  " 


SO     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  The  Senor  knows  Don  Eicardo  ?  "  said 
Mateo  politely. 

"  Ef  you  mean  me  —  wa'al,  yes  —  I 
should  say  so.  He  was  a  partiklar  friend 
of  a  man  I've  known  since  he  was  knee- 
high  to  a  grasshopper." 

Ezekiel  had  actually  never  seen  Dem- 
orest  but  once  in  his  life.  He  would  have 
scorned  to  lie,  but  strict  accuracy  was  not 
essential  with  an  ignorant  foreign  audience. 
He  took  up  his  carpet-bag.  "  I  reckon  1 
kin  find  his  house,  ef  it 's  anyway  handy." 

But  the  Senor  Mateo  was  again  politely 
troubled.  The  house  of  Don  Ricardo  was 
of  a  truth  not  more  than  a  mile  distant.  It 
was  even  possible  that  the  Senor  had  ob 
served  it  above  a  wall  and  vineyard  as  he 
came  into  the  pueblo.  But  it  was  late  —  it 
was  also  dark,  as  the  Senor  would  himself 
perceive  —  and  there  was  still  to-morrow. 
To-morrow  —  ah,  it  was  always  there! 
Meanwhile  there  were  beds  of  a  miraculous 
quality  at  the  Posada,  and  a  supper  such  as 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     81 

a  caballero  might  order  in  his  own  house. 
Health,  discretion,  solicitude  for  oneself  — 
all  pointed  clearly  to  to-morrow. 

What  part  of  this  speech  Ezekiel  under 
stood  affected  him  only  as  an  innkeeper's 
bid  for  custom,  and  as  such  to  be  steadily 
exposed  and  disposed  of.  With  the  remark 
that  he  guessed  Dick  Demorest's  was  "  a 
good  enough  hotel  for  Azra,"  and  that  he  'd 
better  be  "  getting  along  there,"  he  walked 
down  the  steps,  carpet-bag  in  hand,  and 
coolly  departed,  leaving  Mateo  pained,  but 
smiling,  on  the  doorstep. 

"  An  animal  with  a  pig's  head  —  without 
doubt,"  said  Mateo,  sententiously. 

"  Clearly  a  brigand  with  the  liver  of  a 
chicken,"  responded  his  wife. 

The  subject  of  this  ambiguous  criticism, 
happily  oblivious,  meantime  walked  dog 
gedly  back  along  the  road  the  stage-coach 
had  just  brought  him.  It  was  badly  paved 
and  hollowed  in  the  middle  with  the  worn 
ruts  of  a  century  of  slow  undeviating  ox 


82      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

carts,  and  the  passage  of  water  during  the 
rainy  season.  The  low  adobe  houses  on 
each  side,  with  bright  cinnamon-colored 
tiles  relieving  their  dark-brown  walls,  had 
the  regular  outlines  of  their  doors  and  win 
dows  obliterated  by  the  crumbling  of  years, 
until  they  looked  as  if  they  had  been  after 
thoughts  of  the  builder,  rudely  opened  by 
pick  and  crowbar,  and  finished  by  the  gen 
tle  auxiliary  architecture  of  bird  and  squir 
rels.  Yet  these  openings  at  times  permitted 
glimpses  of  a  picturesque  past  in  the  occa 
sional  view  of  a  lace-edged  pillow  or  silken 
counterpane,  striped  hangings,  or  dyed  In 
dian  rugs,  the  flitting  of  a  flounced  petti 
coat  or  flower-covered  head,  or  the  indolent 
leaning  figure  framed  in  a  doorway  of  a 
man  in  wide  velvet  trousers  and  crimson- 
barred  serape,  whose  brown  face  was  partly 
hidden  in  a  yellow  nimbus  of  cigarette 
smoke.  Even  in  the  semi-darkness,  Eze- 
kiel's  penetrating  and  impertinent  eyes  took 
eager  note  of  these  facts  with  superior  com- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     83 

placency,  quite  unmindful,  after  the  fashion 
of   most   critical   travellers,  of  the  hideous 
contrast  of  his  own  long  shapeless  nankeen 
duster,  his   stiff   half-clerical   brown   straw 
hat,  his  wisp  of  gingham  necktie,  his  dusty 
boots,   his   outrageous   carpet-bag,  and   his 
straggling  goat-like  beard.     A  few   looked 
at  him  in  grave,  discreet  wonder.     Whether 
they  recognized  in  him  the  advent  of  a  civi 
lization  that  was  destined  to  supplant  their 
own   ignorant,  sensuous,   colorful   life  with 
austere  intelligence  and  rigid  practical  im 
provement,    did   not    appear.     He    walked 
steadily  on.     As  he  passed  the  low  arched 
door  of  the  mission  church  and  saw  a  faint 
light  glimmering  from  the  side  windows,  he 
had  indeed  a  weak  human  desire  to  go  in 
and  oppose  in  his   own  person  a  debased 
and  idolatrous  superstition  with  some  hap 
pily  chosen  question  that  would  necessarily 
make  the  officiating  priest  and  his  congrega 
tion  exceedingly  uncomfortable.     But  he  re 
sisted  ;  partly  in  the  hope  of  meeting  some 


84     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

idolater  on  his  way  to  Benediction,  and,  in 
the  guise  of  a  stranger  seeking  information, 
dropping  a  few  unpalatable  truths ;  and 
partly  because  he  could  unbosom  himself 
later  to  Demorest,  whom  he  was  not  unwill 
ing  to  believe  had  embraced  Popery  with 
his  adoption  of  a  Spanish  surname  and  title. 
It  had  become  quite  dark  when  he  reached 
the  long  wall  that  enclosed  Demorest's  prem 
ises.  The  wall  itself  excited  his  resentment, 
not  only  as  indicating  an  exclusiveness 
highly  objectionable  in  a  man  who  had  emi 
grated  from  a  free  State,  but  because  he, 
Ezekiel  Corwin,  had  difficulty  in  discover 
ing  the  entrance.  When  he  succeeded,  he 
found  himself  before  an  iron  gate,  happily 
open,  but  savoring  offensively  of  feudalism 
and  tyrannical  proprietorship,  and  passed 
through  and  entered  an  avenue  of  trees 
scarcely  distinguishable  in  the  darkness, 
whose  mysterious  shapes  and  feathery 
plumes  were  unknown  to  him.  Numberless 
odors  equally  vague  and  mysterious  were 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     85 

heavy  in  the  air,  strange  and  delicate  plants 
rose  dimly  on  either  hand  ;  enormous  blos 
soms,  like  ghostly  faces,  seemed  to  peer  at 
him  from  the  shadows.  For  an  instant 
Ezekiel  succumbed  to  an  unprofitable  sense 
of  beauty,  and  acquiesced  in  this  reckless 
extravagance  of  Nature  that  was  so  unlike 
North  Liberty.  But  the  next  moment  he 
recovered  himself,  with  the  reflection  that 
it  was  probably  unhealthy,  and  doggedly 
approached  the  house.  It  was  a  long,  one- 
storied  structure,  apparently  all  roof,  vine, 
and  pillared  veranda.  Every  window  and 
door  was  open  ;  the  two  or  three  grass  ham 
mocks  swung  emptily  between  the  columns ; 
the  bamboo  chairs  and  settees  were  vacant ; 
his  heavy  footsteps  on  the  floor  had  sum 
moned  no  attendant;  not  even  a  dog  had 
barked  as  he  approached  the  house.  It  was 
shiftless,  it  was  sinful  — it  boded  no  good 
to  the  future  of  Demorest. 

He  put  down  his  carpet-bag  on  the  ve 
randa  and  entered   the  broad   hall,  where 


86      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

an  old-fashioned  lantern  was  burning  on  a 
stand.  Here,  too,  the  doors  of  the  vari 
ous  apartments  were  open,  and  the  rooms 
themselves  empty  of  occupants.  An  oppor 
tunity  not  to  be  lost  by  Ezekiel's  inquir 
ing  mind  thus  offered  itself.  He  took  the 
lantern  and  deliberately  examined  the  sev 
eral  apartments,  the  furniture,  the  bedding, 
and  even  the  small  articles  that  were  on  the 
tables  and  mantels.  When  he  had  com 
pleted  the  round  —  including  a  corridor 
opening  on  a  dark  courtyard,  which  he 
did  not  penetrate  —  he  returned  to  the 
hall,  and  set  down  the  lantern  again. 

"  Well,"  said  a  voice  in  his  own  familiar 
vernacular,  "  I  hope  you  like  it." 

Ezekiel  was  surprised,  but  not  discon 
certed.  What  he  had  taken  in  the  shadow 
for  a  bundle  of  serapes  lying  on  the  floor 
of  the  veranda,  was  the  recumbent  figure 
of  a  man  who  now  raised  himself  to  a  sit 
ting  posture. 

"Ez  to  that,"  drawled  Ezekiel,  with  un- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     87 

shaken  self-possession,  "  whether  I  like  it  or 
not  ez  only  a  question  betwixt  kempany  man 
ners  and  truth-telling.  Beggars  hadn't 
oughter  be  choosers,  and  transient  visitors 
like  myself  need  n't  allus  speak  their  mind. 
But  if  you  mean  to  signify  that  with  every 
door  and  window  open  and  universal  shift- 
lessness  lying  round  everywhere  temptin' 
Providence,  you  ain't  lucky  in  havin'  a 
feller-citizen  of  yours  drop  in  on  ye  in 
stead  of  some  Mexican  thief,  I  don't  agree 
with  ye  —  that 's  all." 

The  man  laughed  shortly  and  rose  up.  In 
spite  of  his  careless  yet  picturesque  Mexican 
dress,  Ezekiel  instantly  recognized  Demorest. 
With  his  usual  instincts  he  was  naturally 
pleased  to  observe  that  he  looked  older  and 
more  careworn.  The  softer,  sensuous  climate 
had  perhaps  imparted  a  heaviness  to  his 
fio-ure  and  a  deliberation  to  his  manner  that 
was  quite  unlike  his  own  potential  energy. 

"That  don't  tell  me  who  you  are,  and 
what  you  want,"  he  said,  coldly. 


88     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"Wa'al  then,  I'm  Ezekiel  Corwin  of 
North  Liberty,  ez  used  to  live  with  my 
friend  and  yours  too,  I  guess  —  seem'  how 
the  friendship  was  swapped  into  relationship 
—  Squire  Blandford." 

A  slight  shade  passed  over  Demorest's 
face.  "  Well,"  he  said,  impatiently,  "  I  don't 
remember  you ;  what  then  ?  " 

"  You  don't  remember  me ;  that 's  likely," 
returned  Ezekiel  imperturbably,  combing  his 
straggling  chin  beard  with  three  fingers, 
"  but  whether  it 's  natural  or  not,  considerin' 
the  sukumstances  when  we  last  met,  ez  a 
matter  of  op-pinion.  You  got  me  to  har 
ness  up  the  hoss  and  buggy  the  night  Squire 
Blandford  left  home,  and  never  was  heard 
of  again.  It 's  true  that  it  kem  out  on  en 
quiry  that  the  hoss  and  buggy  ran  away 
from  the  hotel,  and  that  you  had  to  go  out 
to  Warensboro  in  a  sleigh,  and  the  theory 
is  that  poor  Squire  Blandford  must  have 
stopped  the  hoss  and  buggy  somewhere,  got 
in  and  got  run  away  agin,  and  pitched  over 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     89 

the  bridge.  But  seein'  your  relationship  to 
both  Squire  and  Mrs.  Blandford,  and  all  the 
sukumstances,  I  reckoned  you'd  remember 

it." 

"  I  heard  of  it  in  Boston  a  month  after 
wards,"  said  Demorest,  dryly,  "  but  I  don't 
think  I'd  have  recognized  you.  So  you 
were  the  hired  man  who  gave  me  the  buggy. 
Well,  I  don't  suppose  they  discharged  you 
for  it." 

"No,"  said  Ezekiel,  with  undisturbed 
equanimity.  "  I  kalkilate  Joan  would  have 
stopped  that.  Considerin',  too,  that  I  knew 
her  when  she  was  Deacon  Salisbury's  dar 
ter,  and  our  fam'lies  waz  thick  az  peas.  She 
knew  me  well  enough  when  I  met  her  in 
Frisco  the  other  day." 

"  Have  you  seen  Mrs.  Demorest  already  ?" 
said  Demorest,  with  sudden  vivacity.  "Why 
did  n't  you  say  so  before  ?  "  It  was  wonder 
ful  how  quickly  his  face  had  lighted  up  with 
an  earnestness  that  was  not,  however,  without 
some  undefmable  uneasiness.  The  alert  Eze- 


90     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

kiel  noticed  it  and  observed  that  it  was  as 
totally  unlike  the  irresistible  dominance  of 
the  man  of  five  years  ago  as  it  was  different 
from  the  heavy  abstraction  of  the  man  of  five 
minutes  before. 

"  I  reckon  you  did  n't  ax  me,"  he  returned 
coolly.  "  She  told  me  where  you  were,  and 
as  I  had  business  down  this  way  she  guessed 
I  might  drop  in." 

"  Yes,  yes  —  it 's  all  right,  Mr.  Corwin  ; 
glad  you  did,"  said  Demorest,  kindly  but  half 
nervously.  "  And  you  saw  Mrs.  Demorest  ? 
Where  did  you  see  her,  and  how  did  you 
think  she  was  looking  ?  As  pretty  as  ever, 
eh?" 

But  the  coldly  literal  Ezekiel  was  not  to 
be  beguiled  into  polite  or  ambiguous  fiction. 
He  even  went  to  the  extent  of  insulting  de 
liberation  before  he  replied.  "  I  've  seen 
Joan  Salisbury  lookin'  healthier,  and  ez  far 
ez  I  kin  judge  doin'  more  credit  to  her  stock 
and  raisin'  gin'rally,"  he  said,  thoughtfully 
combing  his  beard,  "  and  I  've  seen  her  when 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      91 

she  was  too  poor  to  get  the  silks  and  satins, 
furbelows,  fineries  and  vanities  she's  flauntin' 
in  now,  and  that  was  in  Squire  Blandford's 
time,  too,  I  reckon.  Ez  to  her  purtiness, 
that 's  a  matter  of  taste.  You  think  her 
purty,  and  I  guess  them  fellows  ez  was  es- 
cortin'  and  squirin'  her  round  Frisco  thought 
so  too,  or  she  thought  they  did  to  hev  allowed 
it." 

"  You  are  not  very  merciful  to  your  towns 
folk,  Mr.  Cor  win,"  said  Demorest,  with  a 
forced  smile  ;  "  but  what  can  I  do  for  you  ?  " 

It  was  the  turn  for  Ezekiel's  face  to 
brighten,  or  rather  to  break  up,  like  a 
cold  passionless  mirror  suddenly  cracked, 
into  various  amusing  but  distorted  reflec 
tions  on  the  person  before  him.  "Townies 
ain't  to  be  fooled  by  other  townies,  Mr. 
Demorest ;  at  least  that  ain't  my  idea  o' 
marcy,  he-he!  But  seen  you're  pressin', 
I  don't  mind  tellen  you  my  business.  I  'm 
the  only  agent  of  Seventeen  Patent  Medicine 
Proprietors  in  Connecticut  represented  by 


92      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

the  firm  of  Dilworth  &  Dusenberry,  of  San 
Francisco.  Mebbe  you  heard  of  'em  afore  — 
A  1  druggists  and  importers.  Wa'al,  I  'm 
openin'  a  field  for  'em  and  spreadiu'  'em 
gin'rally  through  these  air  benighted  and 
onhealthy  districts,  havin'  the  contract  for 
the  hull  State  —  especially  for  Wozun's 
Universal  In jin  Panacea  ez  cures  every 
thing  —  bein'  had  from  a  recipe  given  by  a 
Sachem  to  Dr.  Wozun's  gran'ther.  That 
bag  —  leavin'  out  a  dozen  paper  collars  and 
socks  —  is  all  the  rest  samples.  That 's  me, 
Ezekiel  Corwin  —  only  agent  for  Californy, 
and  that 's  my  mission." 

"  Very  well ;  but  look  here,  Corwin,"  said 
Demorest,  with  a  slight  return  of  his  old 
off-hand  manner,  —  "  I  'd  advise  you  to 
adopt  a^  little  more  caution,  and  a  little 
less  criticism  in  your  speech  to  the  people 
about  here,  or  I  'm  afraid  you  '11  need  the 
Universal  Panacea  for  yourself.  Better  men 
than  you  have  been  shot  in  my  presence  for 
half  your  freedom." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      93 

"  I  guess  you  've  just  hit  the  bull's-eye 
there,"  replied  Ezekiel,  coolly,  "  for  it 's  that 
half  freedom  and  half  truth  that  doesn't 
pay.  I  lialkilate  gin'rally  to  speak  my 
hull  mind  —  and  I  do.  Wot's  the  conse 
quence?  Why,  when  folks  find  I  ain't 
afeard  to  speak  my  mind  on  their  aft'airs, 
they  kinder  guess  I  'in  tellin'  the  truth  about 
my  own.  Folks  don't  like  the  man  that 
truckles  to  'em,  whether  it 's  in  the  sellin'  of 
a  box  of  pills  or  a  principle.  When  they 
re-cognize  Ezekiel  Corwin  ain't  goin'  to 
lie  about  'em  to  curry  favor  with  'em, 
they  're  ready  to  believe  he  ain't  goin'  to 
lie  about  Jones'  Bitters,  or  Wozun's  Pan 
acea.  And,  wa'al,  I've  been  on  the  road 
just  about  a  fortnit,  and  I  have  n't  yet  dis 
covered  that  the  original  independent  style 
introduced  by  Ezekiel  Corwin  ever  broke 
anybody's  bones  or  didn't  pay." 

And  he  told  the  truth.  That  remarkably 
unfair  and  unpleasant  spoken  man  had  actu 
ally  frozen  Hanley's  Ford  into  icy  astonish- 


94    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

ment  at  his  audacity,  and  he  had  sold  them 
an  invoice  of  the  Panacea  before  they  had 
recovered  ;  he  had  insulted  Chipitas  into  giv 
ing  an  extensive  order  in  bitters  ;  'he  had  left 
Hayward's  Creek  pledged  to  Burne's  pills  — 
with  drawn  revolvers  still  in  their  hands. 

At  another  time  Demorest  might  have 
been  amused  at  his  guest's  audacity,  or 
have  combated  it  with  his  old  imperious- 
ness,  but  he  only  remained  looking  at  him 
in  a  dull  sort  of  way  as  if  yielding  to  his 
influence.  It  was  part  of  the  phenomenon 
that  the  two  men  seemed  to  have  changed 

O 

character  since  they  last  met,  and  when  Ez- 
ekiel  said  confidentially,  "  I  reckon  you  're 
goin'  to  show  me  what  room  I  ken  stow 
these  duds  o'  mine  in,"  Demorest  replied 
hurriedly,  "  Yes,  certainly,"  and  taking  up 
his  guest's  carpet-bag  preceded  him  through 
the  hall  to  one  of  the  apartments. 

"  I  '11  send  Manuel  to  you  presently,"  he 
said,  putting  down  the  bag  mechanically ; 
"the  servants  are  not  back  from  church, 
it 's  some  saint's  festival  to-day." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      95 

"  And  so  you  keep  a  pack  of  lazy  idolaters 
to  leave  your  house  to  take  care  of  itself, 
whilst  they  worship  graven  images,"  said 
Ezekiel,  delighted  at  this  opportunity  to 
improve  the  occasion. 

"  If  my  memory  is  n't  bad,  Mr.  Corwin," 
said  Demorest  dryly,  "  when  I  accompanied 
Mr.  Blandford  home  the  night  he  returned 
from  his  journey,  we  found  you  at  church, 
and  he  had  to  put  up  his  horse  himself." 

"  But  that  was  the  Sabbath  —the  seventh 
day  of  the  command,"  retorted  Ezekiel. 

"And  here  the  Sabbath  doesn't  consist 
of  only  one  day  to  serve  God  in,"  said 
Demorest,  sententiously. 

Ezekiel  glanced  under  his  white  lashes  at 
Demorest's  thoughtful  face.  His  fondest 
fears  appeared  to  be  confirmed ;  Demorest 
had  evidently  become  a  Papist.  But  that 
gentleman  stopped  any  theological  discus 
sion  by  the  abrupt  inquiry: 

"Did  Mrs.  Demorest  say  when  she 
thought  of  returning  ?  " 


96      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  She  allowed  she  mout  kem  to-morrow 
—  but  "  —  added  Ezekiel  dubiously. 

"  But  what." 

"  Wa'al,  wot  with  her  enjyments  of  the 
vanities  of  this  life  and  the  kempany  she 
keeps,  I  reckon  she  's  in  no  hurry,"  said 
Ezekiel,  cheerfully. 

The  entrance  of  Manuel  here  cut  short 
any  response  from  Demorest,  who  after  a 
few  directions  in  Spanish  to  the  peon,  left 
his  guest  to  himself. 

He  walked  to  the  veranda  with  the  same 
dull  preoccupation  that  Ezekiel  had  noticed 
as  so  different  from  his  old  decisive  manner, 
and  remained  for  a  few  moments  abstract 
edly  gazing  into  the  dark  garden.  The 
strange  and  mystic  shapes  which  had  im 
pressed  even  the  practical  Ezekiel,  had  be 
come  even  more  weird  and  ghost-like  in  the 
faint  radiance  of  a  rising  moon. 

What  memories  evoked  by  his  rude  guest 
seemed  to  take  form  and  outline  in  that 
dreamy  and  unreal  expanse  ! 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      97 

He  saw  his  wife  again,  standing  as  she  had 
stood  that  night  in  her  mother's  house,  with 
the  white  muffler  around  her  head,  and  white 
face,  imploring  him  to  fly ;  he  saw  himself 
again  hurrying  through  the  driving  storm  to 
Warensboro,  and  reaching  the  train  that  bore 
him   swiftly  and    safely  miles   away  —  that 
same  night  when  her  husband  was  perishing 
in  the  swollen  river.      He  remembered  with 
what  strangely  mingled   sensations  he  had 
read  the  account   of   Blandford's  death   in 
the  newspapers,  and  how  the  loss  of  his  old 
friend  was  forgotten  in  the  associations  con 
jured  up  by  his  singular  meeting  that  very 
night  with  the   mysterious  woman   he  had 
loved.     He  remembered  that  he  had  never 
dreamed  how  near  and  fateful  were  these  as 
sociations  ;  and  how  he  had  kept  his  promise 
not  to  seek  her  without  her  permission,  until 
six   months   after,   when   she   appointed    a 
meeting,   and   revealed   to   him   the   whole 
truth.      He   could  see  her  now,   as  he  had 
seen  her  then,  more  beautiful  and  fascinat- 


98      THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

ing  than  ever  in  her  black  dress,  and  the 
pensive  grace  of  refined  suffering  and  re 
strained  passion  in  her  delicate  face.  He 
remembered,  too,  how  the  shock  of  her  dis 
closure  —  the  knowledge  that  she  had  been 
his  old  friend's  wife,  seemed  only  to  accent 
her  purity  and  suffering  and  his  own  wilful 
recklessness,  and  how  it  had  stirred  all  the 
chivalry,  generosity,  and  affection  of  his  easy 
nature  to  take  the  whole  responsibility  of 
this  innocent  but  compromising  intrigue  on 
his  own  shoulders.  He  had  had  no  self- 
accusing  sense  of  disloyalty  to  Blandford  in 
his  practical  nature  ;  he  had  never  suspected 
the  shy,  proper  girl  of  being  his  wife ;  he 
was  willing  to  believe  now,  that  had  he 
known  it,  even  that  night,  he  would  never 
have  seen  her  again  ;  he  had  been  very  fool 
ish  ;  he  had  made  this  poor  woman  partici 
pate  in  his  folly ;  but  he  had  never  been  dis 
honest  or  treacherous  in  thought  or  action. 
If  Blandford  had  lived,  even  he  would  have 
admitted  it.  Yet,  he  was  guiltily  conscious 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.       99 

of  a  material  satisfaction  in  Blandford's 
death,  without  his  wife's  religious  convic 
tion  of  the  saving  graces  of  predestination. 
They  had  been  married  quietly  when  the 
two  years  of  her  widowhood  had  expired ; 
his  former  relations  with  her  husband  and 
the  straitened  circumstances  in  which 
Blandford's  death  had  left  her  having  been 
deemed  sufficient  excuse  in  the  eyes  of  North 
Liberty  for  her  more  worldly  union.  They 
had  come  to  California  at  her  suggestion  "  to 
begin  life  anew,"  for  she  had  not  hesitated 
to  make  this  dislocation  of  all  her  antecedent 
surroundings  as  a  reason  as  well  as  a  con 
dition  of  this  marriage.  She  wished  to  see 
the  world  of  which  he  had  been  a  passing 
glimpse ;  to  expand  under  his  protection  be 
yond  the  limits  of  her  fettered  youth.  He  had 
bought  this  old  Spanish  estate,  with  its  near 
vineyard  and  its  outlying  leagues  covered 
with  wild  cattle,  partly  from  that  strange  con 
tradictory  predilection  for  peaceful  husbandry 
common  to  men  who  have  led  a  roving  life, 


100    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

and  partly  as  a  check  to  her  growing  and 
feverish  desire  for  change  and  excitement. 
He  had  at  first  enjoyed  with  an  almost  pa 
rental  affection  her  childish  unsophisticated 
delight  in  that  world  he  had  already  wearied 
of,  and  which  he  had  been  prepared  to  gladly 
resign  for  her.  But  as  the  months  and  even 
years  had  passed  without  any  apparent  dimi 
nution  in  her  zest  for  these  pleasures,  he  tried 
uneasily  to  resume  his  old  interest  in  them, 
and  spent  ten  months  with  her  in  the  chaotic 
freedom  of  San  Francisco  hotel  life.  But  to 
his  discomfiture  he  found  that  they  no  longer 
diverted  him ;  to  his  horror  he  discovered 
that  those  easy  gallantries  in  which  he  had 
spent  his  youth,  and  in  which  he  had  seen  no 
harm,  were  intolerable  when  exhibited  to  his 
wife,  and  he  trembled  between  inquietude 
and  indignation  at  the  copies  of  his  former 
self,  whom  he  met  in  hotel  parlors,  at  thea 
tres,  and  in  public  conveyances.  The  next 
time  she  visited  some  friends  in  San  Fran 
cisco  he  did  not  accompany  her.  Though  he 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    101 

fondly  cherished  his  experience  of  her  power 
to  resist  even  stronger  temptation,  he '  was 
too  practical  to  subject  himself  to  the  annoy 
ance  of  witnessing  it.  In  her  absence  he 
trusted  her  completely;  his  scant  imagina 
tion  conjured  up  no  disturbing  picture  of 
possibilities  beyond  what  he  actually  knew. 
In  his  recent  questions  of  Ezekiel  he  did  not 
expect  to  learn  anything  more.  Even  his 
guest's  uncomfortable  comments  added  no 
sting  that  he  had  not  already  felt. 

With  these  thoughts  called  up  by  the  im- 
looked  for  advent  of  Ezekiel  under  his  roof, 
he  continued  to  gaze  moodily  into  the  gar 
den.  Near  the  house  were  scattered  several 
uncouth  varieties  of  cacti  which  seemed  to 
have  lost  all  semblance  of  vegetable  growth, 
and  had  taken  rude  likeness  to  beasts  and 
human  figures.  One  high-shouldered  speci 
men,  partly  hidden  in  the  shadow,  had  the 
appearance  of  a  man  with  a  cloak  or  serape 
thrown  over  his  left  shoulder.  As  Demo- 
rest's  wandering  eyes  at  last  became  fixed 


Or   THE 

UNIVERSITY   1 


102    THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

upon  it,  he  fancied  he  could  trace  the  faint 
outlines  of  a  pale  face,  the  lower  part  of 
which  was  hidden  by  the  folds  of  the  serape. 
There  certainly  was  the  forehead,  the  curve 
of  the  dark  eyebrows,  the  shadow  of  a  nose, 
and  even  as  he  looked  more  steadily,  a  glis 
tening  of  the  eyes  upturned  to  the  moon 
light.  A  sudden  chill  seized  him.  It  was  a 
horrible  fancy,  but  it  looked  as  might  have 
looked  the  dead  face  of  Edward  Blandf ord  ! 
He  started  and  ran  quickly  down  the  steps 
of  the  veranda.  A  slight  wind  at  the  same 
moment  moved  the  long  leaves  and  tendrils 
of  a  vine  nearest  him  and  sent  a  faint  wave 
through  the  garden.  He  reached  the  cactus  ; 
its  fantastic  bulk  stood  plainly  before  him, 
but  nothing  more. 

"Whar  are  ye  rutmin'  to?"  said  the  in 
quiring  voice  of  Ezekiel  from  the  veranda. 

"  I  thought  I  saw  someone  in  the  garden," 
returned  Demorest,  quietly,  satisfied  of  the 
illusion  of  his  senses,  "  but  it  was  a  mistake." 

"  It  mout  and  it  inout  n't,"  said  Ezekiel, 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    103 

dryly.  "  Thar 's  nothin'  to  keep  anyone  out. 
It 's  only  a  wonder  that  you  ain't  overrun 
with  thieves  and  sich  like." 

"  There  are  usually  servants  about  the 
place,"  said  Demorest,  carelessly. 

"  Ef  they  're  the  same  breed  ez  that  Man 
uel,  I  reckon  I  'd  almost  as  leave  take  my 
chances  in  the  road.  Ef  it 's  all  the  same 
to  you  I  kalkilate  to  put  a  paytent  fastener 
to  my  door  and  winder  to-night.  I  allus 
travel  with  them."  Seeing  that  Demorest 
only  shrugged  his  shoulders  without  reply 
ing,  he  continued.  "  Et  ain't  far  from  here 
that  some  folks  allow  is  the  headquarters  of 
that  cattle-stealing  gang.  The  driver  of  the 
coach  went  ez  far  ez  to  say  that  some  of  these 
high  and  mighty  Dons  hereabouts  knows 
more  of  it  than  they  keer  to  tell." 

"That's  simply  a  yarn  for  greenhorns." 
said  Demorest,  contemptuously.  "I  know 
all  the  ranch  proprietors  for  twenty  leagues 
around,  and  they  've  lost  as  many  cattle  and 
horses  as  I  have." 


104    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  I  wanter  know,"  said  Ezekiel,  with  grim 
interest.  "  Then  you  've  already  had  con- 
sid'ble  losses,  eh?  I  kalkilate  them  cattle 
are  vally'ble  —  about  wot  figger  do  you 
reckon  yer  out  and  injured  ?  " 

"Three  or  four  thousand  dollars,  I  sup 
pose,  altogether,"  replied  Demorest,  shortly. 

"  Then  you  don't  take  any  stock  in  them 
yer  yarns  about  the  gang  being  run  and  pro 
tected  by  some  first-class  men  in  Frisco  ?  " 
said  Ezekiel,  regretfully. 

"Not  much,"  responded  Demorest,  dryly; 
"  but  if  people  choose  to  believe  this  bluff 
gotten  up  by  the  petty  thieves  themselves  to 
increase  their  importance  and  secure  their 
immunity  —  they  can.  But  here 's  Manuel 
to  tell  us  supper  is  ready." 

He  led  the  way  to  the  corridor  and  court 
yard  which  Ezekiel  had  not  penetrated  on 
account  of  its  obscurity  and  solitude,  but 
which  now  seemed  to  be  peopled  with  peons 
and  household  servants  of  both  sexes.  At 
the  end  of  a  long  low-ceilinged  room  a  table 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    105 

was  spread  with  omelettes,  chupa,  cakes, 
chocolate,  grapes,  and  melons,  around  which 
half  a  dozen  attendants  stood  gravely  in 
waiting.  The  size  of  the  room,  which  to 
Ezekiel's  eyes  looked  as  large  as  the  church 
at  North  Liberty,  the  profusion  of  the  viands, 
the  six  attendants  for  the  host  and  solitary 
guest,  deeply  impressed  him.  Morally  re 
belling  against  this  feudal  display  and  ex 
travagance,  he,  who  had  disclaimed  to  even 
assist  the  Blandford's  servant  in  waiting  at 
table  and  had  always  made  his  solitary  meal 
on  the  kitchen  dresser,  was  not  above  feeling 
a  material  satisfaction  in  sitting  on  equal 
terms  with  his  master's  friend  and  being 
served  by  these  menials  he  despised.  He 
did  full  justice  to  the  victuals  of  which  Dem- 
orest  partook  in  sparing  abstraction,  and 
particularly  to  the  fruit  which  Demorest  did 
not  touch  at  all.  Observant  of  his  servants' 
eyes  fixed  in  wonder  on  the  strange  guest 
who  had  just  disposed  of  a  second  melon  at 
supper,  Demorest  could  not  help  remarking 


106     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

that  he  would  lose  credit  as  a  medico  with 
the  natives  unless  he  restrained  a  public  ex 
hibition  of  his  tastes. 

"  Ez  ha'  aw  ?  "  queried  Ezekiel. 

"  They  have  a  proverb  here  that  fruit  is 
gold  in  the  morning,  silver  at  noon,  and  lead 
at  night." 

"  That  '11  do  for  lazy  stomicks,"  said  the 
unabashed  Ezekiel.  "  When  they  're  once 
fortified  by  Jones'  bitters  and  hard  work, 
they'll  be  able  to  tackle  the  Lord's  nat'ral 
gifts  of  the  airth  at  any  time." 

Declining  the  cigarettes  offered  him  by 
Demorest  for  a  quid  of  tobacco,  which  he 
gravely  took  from  a  tin  box  in  his  pocket, 
and  to  the  astonished  eyes  of  the  servants 
apparently  obliterated  any  further  remem 
brance  of  the  meal,  he  accompanied  his  host 
to  the  veranda  again,  where,  tilting  his 
chair  back  and  putting  his  feet  on  the  rail 
ing,  he  gave  himself  up  to  unwonted  and 
silent  rumination. 

The  silence  was  broken  at  last  by  Demo- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    107 

rest,  who,  half  reclining  on  a  settee,  had 
once  or  twice  glanced  towards  the  misshapen 
cactus. 

"  Was  there  any  trace  discovered  of  Bland- 
ford,  other  than  we  knew  before  we  left  the 
States  ?  " 

"  Wa'al,  no,"  said  Ezekiel,  thoughtfully. 
"  The  last  idea  was  that  he  'd  got  control  of 
the  hoss  after  passin'  the  bridge,  and  had 
managed  to  turn  him  back,  for  there  was 
marks  of  buggy  wheels  on  the  snow  on  the 
far  side,  and  that  fearin'  to  trust  the  hoss  or 
the  bridge  he  tried  to  lead  him  over  when 
the  bridge  gave  way,  and  he  was  caught  in 
the  wreck  and  carried  off  down  stream. 
That  would  account  for  his  body  not  bein' 
found  ;  they  do  tell  that  chunks  of  that  bridge 
were  picked  up  on  the  Sound  beach  near  the 
mouth  o'  the  river,  nigh  unto  sixty  miles 
away.  That 's  about  the  last  idea  they  had 
of  it  at  North  Liberty."  He  paused  and 
then  cleverly  directing  a  stream  of  tobacco 
juice  at  an  accurate  curve  over  the  railing, 


108    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

wiped  his  lips  with  the  back  of  his  hand,  and 
added,  slowly,  "Thar's  another  idea  —  but 
I  reckon  it 's  only  mine.  Leastways  I  ain't 
heard  it  argued  by  anybody." 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  asked  Demorest. 

"  Wa'al,  it  ain't  exakly  complimentary  to 
E.  Blandford.  Esq.,  and  it  mout  be  orkard 
for  you." 

"I  don't  think  you're  in  the  habit  of 
letting  such  trifles  interfere  with  your  opin 
ion,"  said  Demorest,  with  a  slightly  forced 
laugh ;  "  but  what  is  your  idea  ?  " 

"  That  thar  was  n't  any  accident." 

"No  accident?"  replied  Demorest,  raising 
himself  on  his  elbow. 

"Nary  accident,"  continued  Ezekiel,  de 
liberately,  "  and,  if  it  comes  to  that,  not 
much  of  a  dead  body  either." 

"What  the  devil  do  you  mean?"  said 
Demorest,  sitting  up. 

"  I  mean,"  said  Ezekiel,  with  momentous 
deliberation,  "that  E.  Blandford,  of  the 
Winnipeg  Mills,  was  in  March,  '50,  ez  nigh 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    109 

bein'  bust  up  ez  any  man  kin  be  without 
actually  failin';  that  he'd  been  down  to 
Boston  that  day  to  get  some  extensions; 
that  old  Deacon  Salisbury  knew  it,  and  had 
been  pesterin'  Mrs.  Blandford  to  induce  him 
to  sell  out  and  leave  the  place ;  and  that  the 
night  he  left  he  took  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  in  bank-bills  that  they  allus 
kept  in  the  house,  and  Mrs.  Blandford  was 
in  the  habit  o'  hidin'  in  the  breast-pocket  of 
one  of  his  old  overcoats  hangin'  up  in  the 
closet.  I  mean  that  that  air  money  and 
that  air  overcoat  went  off  with  him,  ez  Mrs. 
Blandford  knows,  for  I  heard  her  tell  her 
ma  about  it.  And  when  his  affairs  were 
wound  up  and  his  debts  paid,  I  reckon  that 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty  was  all  there  was 
left  —  and  he  scooted  with  it.  It 's  orkard 
for  you  —  ez  I  said  afore  —  but  I  don't  see 
wot  on  earth  you  need  get  riled  for.  Ef  he 
ran  off  on  account  of  only  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  he  ain't  goin'  to  run  back  again 
for  the  mere  matter  o'  your  marrying  Joan. 


110     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Ef  he  had  —  he  'd  a  done  it  afore  this.  It 's 
orkard  ez  I  said  —  but  the  only  orkardness 
is  your  feelin's.  I  reckon  Joan 's  got  used 
to  hers." 

Demorest  had  risen  angrily  to  his  feet. 
But  the  next  moment  the  utter  impossibility 
of  reaching  this  man's  hide -bound  moral 
perception  by  even  physical  force  hopelessly 
overcame  him.  It  would  only  impress  him 
with  the  effect  of  his  own  disturbing  power, 
that  to  Ezekiel  was  equal  to  a  proof  of  the 
truth  of  his  opinions.  It  might  even  encour 
age  him  to  repeat  this  absurd  story  else 
where  with  his  own  construction  upon  his 
reception  of  it.  After  all  it  was  only  Eze- 
kiel's  opinion  —  an  opinion  too  preposterous 
for  even  a  moment's  serious  consideration. 
Blandford  alive,  and  a  petty  defaulter! 
Blandford  above  the  earth  and  complacently 
abandoning  his  wife  and  home  to  another ! 
Blandford  —  perhaps  a  sneaking,  cowardly 
Nemesis  —  hiding  in  the  shadow  for  future 
— impossible !  It  really  was  enough  to  make 
him  laugh. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    Ill 

He  did  laugh,  albeit  with  an  uneasy  sense 
that  only  a  few  years  ago  he  would  have 
struck  down  the  man  who  had  thus  traduced 
his  friend's  memory. 

"  You  've  been  overtaxing  your  brain  in 
patent  medicine  circulars,  Corwin,"  he  said 
in  a  roughly  rallying  manner,  "  and  you  've 
got  rather  too  much  highfalutin  and  bitters 
mixed  with  your  opinions.  After  that  yarn 
of  yours  you  must  be  dry.  What '11  you 
take?  I  haven't  got  any  New  England 
rum,  but  I  can  give  you  some  ten-year-old 
aguardiente  made  on  the  place." 

As  he  spoke  he  lifted  a  decanter  and  glass 
from  a  small  table  which  Manuel  had  placed 
in  the  veranda. 

"  I  guess  not,"  said  Ezekiel  dryly.  "  It 's 
now  goin'  on  five  years  since  I  've  been  a 
consistent  temperance  man." 

"  In  everything  but  melons,  and  criticism 
of  your  neighbor,  eh  ?  "  said  Demorest,  pour 
ing  out  a  glass  of  the  liquor. 

"  I  hev  my  convictions,"  said  Ezekiel  with 
affected  meekness. 


112     THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  And  I  have  mine,"  said  Demorest,  toss 
ing  off  the  fiery  liquor  at  a  draught,  "  and 
it 's  that  this  is  devilish  good  stuff.  Sorry 
you  can't  take  some.  I  'm  afraid  I  '11  have 
to  get  you  to  excuse  me  for  a  while.  I  have 
to  take  a  ride  over  the  ranch  before  turn 
ing  in,  to  see  if  everything's  right.  The 
house  is  'at  your  disposition,'  as  we  say 
here.  I  '11  see  you  later." 

He  walked  away  with  a  slight  exaggera 
tion  of  unconcern.  Ezekiel  watched  him 
narrowly  with  colorless  eyes  beneath  his 
white  lashes.  When  he  had  gone  he  exam 
ined  the  thoroughly  emptied  glass  of  aguar 
diente,  and  taking  the  decanter  sniffed  crit 
ically  at  its  sharp  and  potent  contents.  A 
smile  of  gratified  discernment  followed.  It 
was  clear  to  him  that  Demorest  was  a  heavy 
drinker. 

Contrary  to  his  prognostication,  however, 
Mrs.  Demorest  did  arrive  the  next  day. 
But  although  he  was  to  depart  from  Buena 
ventura  by  the  same  coach  that  had  set  her 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     US 

down  at  the  gate  of  the  ca'sa,  he  had  already 
left  the  house  armed  with  some  letters  of 
introduction  which  Demorest  had  generously 
given  him,  to  certain  small  traders  in  the 
pueblo  and  along  the  route.  Demorest  was 
not  displeased  to  part  with  him  before  the 
arrival  of  his  wife,  and  thus  spare  her  the 
awkwardness  of  a  repetition  of  Ezekiel's 
effrontery  in  her  presence.  Nor  was  he  will 
ing  to  have  the  impediment  of  a  guest  in  the 
house  to  any  explanation  he  might  have  to 
seek  from  her,  or  to  the  confidences  that 
hereafter  must  be  fuller  and  more  mutual. 
For  with  all  his  deep  affection  for  his  wife, 
Richard  Demorest  unconsciously  feared  her. 
The  strong  man  whose  dominance  over  men 
and  women  alike  had  been  his  salient  char 
acteristic,  had  begun  to  feel  an  undefinable 
sense  of  some  unrecognized  quality  in  the 
woman  he  loved.  He  had  once  or  twice 
detected  it  in  a  tone  of  her  voice,  in  a  re 
membered  and  perhaps  even  once  idolized 
gesture,  or  in  the  accidental  lapse  of  some 


114     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

bewildering  word.  With  the  generosity  of 
a  large  nature  he  had  put  the  thought  aside, 
referring  it  to  some  selfish  weakness  of  his 
own,  or  —  more  fatuous  than  all  —  to  a  pos 
sible  diminution  of  his  own  affection. 

He  was  standing  on  the  steps  ready  to 
receive  her.  Few  of  her  appreciative  sex 
could  have  remained  indifferent  to  the  ten 
der  and  touching  significance  of  his  silent 
and  subdued  welcome.  He  had  that  piteous 
wistfulness  of  eye  seen  in  some  dogs  and  the 
husbands  of  many  charming  women  —  the 
affection  that  pardons  beforehand  the  indif 
ference  it  has  learned  to  expect.  She  ap 
proached  him  smiling  in  her  turn,  meeting 
the  sublime  patience  of  being  unloved  with 
the  equally  resigned  patience  of  being  loved, 
and  feeling  that  comforting  sense  of  virtue 
which  might  become  a  bore,  but  never  a 
self-reproach.  ^  For  the  rest,  she  was  prettier 
than  ever;  her  five  years  of  expanded  life 
had  slightly  rounded  the  elongated  oval  of 
her  face,  filled  up  the  ascetic  hollows  of  her 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    115 

temples,  and  freed  the  repression  of  her 
mouth  and  chin.  A  more  genial  climate 
had  quickened  the  circulation  that  North 
Liberty  had  arrested,  and  suffused  the  trans 
parent  beauty  of  her  skin  with  eloquent  life. 
It  seemed  as  if  the  long  protracted  northern 
spring  of  her  youth  had  suddenly  burst  into 
a  summer  of  womanhood  under  those  gentle 
skies ;  and  yet  enough  of  her  puritan  preci 
sion  of  manner,  movement,  and  gesture  re 
mained  to  temper  her  fuller  and  more  exuber 
ant  life  and  give  it  repose.  In  a  community 
of  pretty  women  more  or  less  given  to  the 
license  and  extravagance  of  the  epoch,  she 
always  looked  like  a  lady. 

He  took  her  in  his  arms  and  half  lifted 
her  up  the  last  step  of  the  veranda.  She 
resisted  slightly  with  her  characteristic  ac 
tion  of  catching  his  wrists  in  both  her  hands 
and  holding  him  off  with  an  awkward  prim 
ness,  and  almost  in  the  same  tone  that  she 
had  used  to  Edward  Blandford  five  years 
before,  said  : 

"There,  Dick,  that  will  do." 


116     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DEMOREST'S  dream  of  a  few  days'  conju 
gal  seclusion  and  confidences  with  his  wife 
was  quickly  dispelled  by  that  lady.  "I 
came  down  with  Rosita  Pico,  whose  father, 
you  know,  once  owned  this  property,"  she 
said.  "  She 's  gone  on  to  her  cousins  at  Los 
Osos  Rancho  to-night,  but  comes  here  to 
morrow  for  a  visit.  She  knows  the  place 
well ;  in  fact,  she  once  had  a  romantic  love 
affair  here.  But  she  is  very  entertaining. 
It  will  be  a  little  change  for  us,"  she  added, 
naively. 

Demorest  kept  back  a  sigh,  without  chang 
ing  his  gentle  smile.  "  I  'm  glad  for  your 
sake,  dear.  But  is  she  not  a  little  flighty 
and  inclined  to  flirt  a  good  deal?  I  think 
I  've  heard  so." 

"She's  a  young  girl  who  has  been  se 
verely  tried,  Richard,  and  perhaps  is  not  to 
blame  for  endeavoring  to  forget  it  in  such 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    117 

distraction  as  she  can  find,"  said  Mrs.  Dem- 
orest,  with  a  slight  return  of  her  old  man 
ner.  "  /  can  understand  her  feelings  per 
fectly."  She  looked  pointedly  at  her  hus 
band  as  she  spoke,  it  being  one  of  her  late 
habits  to  openly  refer  to  their  ante-nuptial 
acquaintance  as  a  natural  reaction  from  the 
martyrdom  of  her  first  marriage,  with  a 
quiet  indifference  that  seemed  almost  an  in 
delicacy.  But  her  husband  only  said,  "  As 
you  like,  dear,"  vaguely  remembering  Dona 
Kosita  as  the  alleged  heroine  of  a  forgotten 
romance  with  some  earlier  American  adven 
turer  who  had  disappeared,  and  trying 
vainly  to  reconcile  his  wife's  sentimental  de 
scription  of  her  with  his  own  recollection  of 
the  buxom,  pretty,  laughing,  but  dangerous- 
eyed  Spanish  girl  he  had,  however,  seen  but 
once. 

She  arrived  the  next  day,  flying  into  a 
protracted  embrace  of  Joan,  which  included 
a  smiling  recognition  of  Demorest  with  an 
unoccupied  blue  eye,  and  a  shake  of  her  fan 


118     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

over  his  wife's  shoulder.  Then  she  drew 
back  and  seemed  to  take  in  the  whole  ve 
randa  and  garden  in  another  long  caress  of 
her  eyes.  "  Ah  —  yess  !  I  have  recog-nized 
it,  mooch.  It  es  ze  same.  Of  no  change  — 
not  even  of  a  leetle.  No,  she  ess  always  — 
esso."  She  stopped,  looked  unutterable 
things  at  Joan,  pressed  her  fan  below  a  spray 
of  roses  on  her  full  bodice  as  if  to  indicate 
some  thrilling  memory  beneath  it,  shook  her 
head  again,  suddenly  caught  sight  of  Demo- 
rest's  serious  face,  said,  "  Ah,  that  brigand 
of  our  husband  laughs  himself  at  me,"  and 
then  herself  broke  into  a  charming  ripple  of 
laughter. 

"  But  I  was  not  laughing,  Dona  Rosita," 
said  Demorest,  smiling  sadly,  however,  in 
spite  of  himself. 

She  made  a  little  grimace,  and  then 
raised  her  elbows,  slightly  lifting  her  shoul 
ders.  "  As  it  shall  please  you,  Senor.  But 
he  is  gone  —  thees  passion.  Yess  —  what 
you  shall  call  thees  sentiment  of  lof  —  zo  — 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     119 

as  he  came  !  "  She  threw  her  fingers  in  the 
air  as  if  to  illustrate  the  volatile  and  tran 
sitory  passage  of  her  affections,  and  then 
turned  again  to  Joan  with  her  back  towards 
Deinorest. 

"Do  please  go  on — Dona  Kosita,"  said 
he.  "  I  never  heard  the  real  story.  If 
there  is  any  romance  about  my  house,  I  'd 
like  to  know  it,"  he  added  with  a  faint  sigh. 

Dona  Rosita  wheeled  upon  him  with  an 
inquiring  little  look.  "Ah,  you  have  the 
sentiment,  and  you"  she  continued,  taking 
Joan  by  the  arms,  "  you  have  not.  Eet  ess 
good  so.  When  a  —  the  wife,"  she  contin 
ued  boldly,  hazarding  an  extended  English 
abstraction,  "  he  has  the  sentimente  and  the 
hoosband  he  has  nothing,  eet  is  not  good  — 
for  a-him  —  ze  wife,"  she  concluded  trium 
phantly. 

"  But  I  have  great  appreciation  and  I 
am  dying  to  hear  it,"  said  Demorest,  trying 
to  laugh. 

"  Well,  poor  one,  you  look  so.     But  you 


120     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

shall  lif  till  another  time,"  said  Dona  Ro- 
sita,  with  a  mock  courtesy,  gliding  with 
Joan  away. 

The  "  other  time "  came  that  evening 
when  chocolate  was  served  on  the  veranda, 
where  Dona  Rosita,  mantilla-draped  against 
the  dry,  clear,  moonlit  air,  sat  at  the  feet  of 
Joan  on  the  lowest  step.  Demorest,  unea 
sily  observant  of  the  influence  of  the  giddy 
foreigner  on  his  wife,  and  conscious  of  cer 
tain  confidences  between  them  from  which 
he  was  excluded,  leaned  against  a  pillar  of 
the  porch  in  half  abstracted  resignation; 
Joan,  under  the  tutelage  of  Rosita,  lit  a  ci 
garette  ;  Demorest  gazed  at  her  wonderingly, 
trying  to  recall,  in  her  fuller  and  more  ani 
mated  face,  some  memory  of  the  pale,  re 
fined  profile  of  the  Puritan  girl  he  had  first 
met  in  the  Boston  train,  the  faint  aurora  of 
whose  cheek  in  that  northern  clime  seemed 
to  come  and  go  with  his  words.  Becoming 
conscious  at  last  of  the  eyes  of  Doiia  Rosita 
watching  him  from  below,  with  an  effort  he 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    121 

recalled  his  duty  as  her  host  and  gallantly 
reminded  her  that  moonlight  and  the  hour 
seemed  expressly  fitted  for  her  promised 
love  story. 

"Do  tell  it,"  said  Joan,  "I  don't  mind 
hearing  it  again." 

"  Then  you  know  it  already  ?  "  said  Dem- 
orest,  surprised. 

Joan  took  the  cigarette  from  her  lips, 
laughed  complacently,  and  exchanged  a  fa 
miliar  glance  with  Rosita.  "  She  told  it  me 
a  year  ago,  when  we  first  knew  each  other," 
she  replied.  "  Go  on,  dear,"  to  Rosita. 

Thus  encouraged,  Dona  Rosita  began,  ad 
dressing  herself  first  in  Spanish  to  Demo- 
rest,  who  understood  the  language  better 
than  his  wife,  and  lapsing  into  her  charac 
teristic  English  as  she  appealed  to  them 
both.  It  was  really  very  little  to  interest 
Don  Ricardo  —  this  story  of  a  silly  mucha- 
cha  like  herself  and  a  strange  caballero. 
He  would  go  to  sleep  while  she  was  talking, 
and  to-night  he  would  say  to  his  wife, 


122    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  Mother  of  God !  why  have  you  brought 
here  this  chattering  parrot  who  speaks  but 
of  one  thing?"  But  she  would  go  on  always 
like  the  windmill,  whether  there  was  grain 
to  grind  or  no.  "  It  was  four  years  ago. 
Ah!  Don  Ricardo  did  not  remember  the 
country  then  —  it  was  when  the  first  Ameri 
cans  came  —  now  it  is  different.  Then 
there  were  no  coaches  —  in  truth  one  trav 
elled  very  little,  and  always  on  horseback, 
only  to  see  one's  neighbors.  And  sud 
denly,  as  if  in  one  day,  it  was  changed ; 
there  were  strange  men  on  the  roads,  and 
one  was  frightened,  and  one  shut  the  gates 
of  the  pateo  and  drove  the  horses  into  the 
corral.  One  did  not  know  much  of  the 
Americans  then  —  for  why  ?  They  were  al 
ways  going,  going  —  never  stopping,  hurry 
ing  on  to  the  gold  mines,  hurrying  away 
from  the  gold  mines,  hurrying  to  look  for 
other  gold  mines :  but  always  going  on  foot, 
on  horseback,  in  queer  wagons  —  hurrying, 
pushing  everywhere.  Ah,  it  took  away  the 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    123 

breath.  All,  except  one  American  —  he 
did  not  hurry,  he  did  not  go  with  the  others, 
he  came  and  stayed  here  at  Buenaventura. 
He  was  very  quiet,  very  civil,  very  sad,  and 
very  discreet.  He  was  not  like  the  others, 
and  always  kept  aloof  from  them.  He  came 
to  see  Don  Andreas  Pico,  and  wanted  to 
beg  a  piece  of  land  and  an  old  vaquero's 
hut  near  the  road  for  a  trifle.  Don  Andreas 
would  have  given  it,  or  a  better  house,  to 
him,  or  have  had  him  live  at  the  casa  here  ; 
but  he  would  not.  He  was  very  proud  and 
shy,  so  he  took  the  vaquero's  hut,  a  mere 
adobe  affair,  and  lived  in  it,  though  a  cabal- 
lero  like  yourself,  with  white  hands  that 
knew  not  labor,  and  small  feet  that  had 
seldom  walked.  In  good  time  he  learned  to 
ride  like  the  best  vaquero,  and  helped  Don 
Andreas  to  find  the  lost  mustangs,  and 
showed  him  how  to  improve  the  old  mill. 
And  his  pride  and  his  shyness  wore  off,  and 
he  would  come  to  the  casa  sometimes.  And 
Don  Andreas  got  to  love  him  very  much, 


124     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

and  his  daughter,  Dona  Rosita —  ah,  well, 
yes  truly  —  a  leetle. 

"  But  he  had  strange  moods  and  ways, 
this  American,  and  at  times  they  would 
have  thought  him  a  lunatico  had  they  not 
believed  it  to  be  an  American  fashion.  He 
would  be  very  kind  and  gentle  like  one  of 
the  family,  coming  to  the  casa  every  day, 
playing  with  the  children,  advising  Don  An 
dreas  and — yes — having  a  devotion  — 
very  discreet,  very  ceremonious,  for  Dona 
Rosita.  And  then,  all  in  a  moment,  he 
would  become  as  ill,  without  a  word  or  ges 
ture,  until  he  would  stalk  out  of  the  house, 
gallop  away  furiously,  and  for  a  week  not  be 
heard  of.  The  first  time  it  happened,  Dona 
Rosita  was  piqued  by  his  rudeness,  Don  An 
dreas  was  alarmed,  for  it  was  on  an  evening 
like  the  present,  and  Dona  Rosita  was 
teaching  him  a  little  song  on  the  guitar 
when  the  fit  came  on  him.  And  he  snapped 
the  guitar  strings  like  thread  and  threw  it 
down,  and  got  up  like  a  bear  and  walked 
away  without  a  word." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    125 

"I  see  it  all,"  said  Demorest,  half 
seriously:  "you  were  coquetting  with  him, 
and  he  was  jealous." 

But  Dona  Eosita  shook  her  head  and 
turned  impetuously,  and  said  in  English  to 
Joan,  "No,  it  was  astutcia  —  a  trick,  a  ruse. 
Because  when  my  father  have  arrived  at  his 
house,  he  is  agone.  And  so  every  time. 
When  he  have  the  fit  he  goes  not  to  his 
house.  No.  And  it  ees  not  until  after  one 
time  when  he  comes  back  never  again,  that 
we  have  comprehend  what  he  do  at  these 
times.  And  what  do  you  think?  I  shall 
tell  to  you." 

She  composed  herself  comfortably,  with 
her  plump  elbows  on  her  knees,  and  her  fan 
crossed  on  the  palm  of  her  hand  before  her, 
and  began  again  : 

"  It  is  a  year  he  has  agone,  and  the  stage 
coach  is  attack  of  brigands.  Tiburcio,  our 
vaquero,  have  that  night  made  himself  a 
pasear  on  the  road,  and  he  have  seen  him. 
He  have  seen,  one,  two,  three  men  came 


126     TEE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

from  the  wood  with  something  on  the  face, 
and  he  is  of  them.  He  has  nothing  on  his 
face,  and  Tiburcio  have  recognize  him.  We 
have  laugh  at  Tiburcio.  We  believe  him 
not.  It  is  improbable  that  this  Senor  Huan- 
son  "  — 

"  Senor  who  ?  "  said  Demorest. 

"  Huanson  —  eet  is  the  name  of  him.  Ah, 
Carr!  —  posiblemente  it  is  nothing  —  a  Don 
Fulano  —  or  an  apodo  —  Huanson." 

"  Oh,  I  see,  Johnson,  very  likely." 

"  We  have  said  it  is  not  possible  that  this 
good  man,  who  have  come  to  the  house  and 
ride  on  his  back  the  children,  is  a  thief  and 
a  brigand.  And  one  night  my  father  have 
come  from  the  Monterey  in  the  coach,  and 
it  was  stopped.  And  the  brigands  have  take 
from  the  passengers  the  money,  the  rings 
from  the  finger,  and  the  watch  —  and  my 
father  was  of  the  same.  And  my  father,  he 
have  great  dissatisfaction  and  anguish,  for 
his  watch  is  given  to  him  of  an  old  friend, 
and  it  is  not  like  the  other  watch.  But  the 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    127 

watch  he  go  all  the  same.  And  then  when 
the  robbers  have  make  a  finish  comes  to  the 
window  of  the  coach  a  mascara  and  have  say, 
'  Who  is  the  Don  Andreas  Pico  ? '  And  my 
father  have  say,  '  It  is  I  who  am  Don  Andreas 
Pico.'  And  the  mask  have  say,  'Behold, 
your  watch  is  restore ! '  and  he  gif  it  to  him. 
And  my  father  say,  '  To  whom  have  I  the" 
distinguished  honor  to  thank?'  And  the 
mask  say  "  — 

"  Johnson,"  interrupted  Demorest. 

"  No,"  said  Dona  Kosita  in  grave  triumph, 
"  he  say  Essmith.  For  this  Essmith  is  like 
Huanson  —  an  apodo  —  nothing." 

"  Then  you  really  think  this  man  was  your 
old  friend?"  asked  Demorest. 

"  I  think." 

"And  that  he  was  a  robber  even  when 
living  here  —  and  that  it  was  not  your 
cruelty  that  really  drove  him  to  take  the 
road  ?  " 

Dona  Kosita  shrugged  her  plump  shoul 
ders.  "  You  will  not  comprehend.  It  was 


128    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

because  of  his  being  a  brigand  that  he  stayed 
not  with  us.  My  father  would  not  have  ob 
ject  if  he  have  present  himself  to  me  for 
marriage  in  these  times.  I  would  not  have 
object,  for  I  was  young,  and  we  have  knew 
nothing.  It  was  he  who  have  object.  For 
why  ?  Inside  of  his  heart  he  have  feel  he 
was  a  brigand." 

"But  you  might  have  reformed  him  in 
time,"  said  Demorest. 

She  again  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "  Quien 
sabe."  After  a  pause  she  added  with  infinite 
gravity :  "  And  before  he  have  reform,  it  is 
bad  for  the  menage.  I  should  invite  to  my 
house  some  friend.  They  arrive,  and  one 
say,  '  I  have  not  the  watch  of  my  pocket,' 
and  another,  4  The  ring  of  my  finger,  he  is 
gone,'  and  another,  'My  earrings,  she  is 
loss.'  And  I  am  obliged  to  say,  '  They  re 
side  now  in  the  pocket  of  my  hoosband ; 
patience  !  a  little  while  —  perhaps  to-mor 
row —  he  will  restore.'  No,"  she  continued, 
with  an  air  of  infinite  conviction,  "  it  is  not 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    129 

good  for  the  menage  —  the  necessity  of  those 
explanation." 

"  "  You  told  me  he  was  handsome,"  said 
Joan,  passing  her  arm  carelessly  around  Dona 
Rosita's  comfortable  waist.  "How  did  he 
look?" 

"  As  an  angel !  He  have  long  curls  to  his 
back.  His  moustache  was  as  silk,  for  he  have 
had  never  a  barber  to  his  face.  And  his  eyes 
—  Santa  Maria !  —  so  soft  and  so  —  so  me- 
lankoly.  When  he  smile  it  is  like  the  moon 
light.  But,"  she  added,  rising  to  her  feet 
and  tossing  the  end  of  her  lace  mantilla  over 
her  shoulder  with  a  little  laugh  — "  it  is 
finish  —  Adelante  !  Dr-r-rive  on  !  " 

"  I  don't  want  to  destroy  your  belief  in 
the  connection  of  your  friend  with  the  road 
agents,"  said  Demorest  grimly,  "  but  if  he 
belongs  to  their  band  it  is  in  an  inferior  ca 
pacity.  Most  of  them  are  known  to  the  au 
thorities,  and  I  have  heard  it  even  said  that 
their  leader  or  organizer  is  a  very  unroman- 
tic  speculator  in  San  Francisco." 


130     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

But  this  suggestion  was  received  coldly  by 
the  ladies,  who  superciliously  turned  their 
backs  upon  it  and  the  suggester.  Joan 
dropped  her  voice  to  a  lower  tone  and  turned 
to  Dona  Rosita.  "  And  you  have  never  seen 
him  since  ?  " 

"  Never." 

"  /  should  —  at  least,  I  would  n't  have  let 
it  end  in  that  way,"  said  Joan  in  a  positive 
whisper. 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  Dona  Rosita,  laughing.  «  So 
eet  is  2/ow,  Juanita,  that  have  the  romance 
—  eh  ?  Ah,  bue?io  !  '  you  have  the  house  — 
so  I  gif  to  you  the  lover  also.'  I  place  him 
at  your  disposition."  She  made  a  mock 
gesture  of  elaborate  and  complete  abnega 
tion.  "  But,"  she  added  in  Joan's  ear,  with 
a  quick  glance  at  Demorest,  "  do  not  let  our 
hoosband  eat  him.  Even  now  he  have  the 
look  to  strangle  me.  Make  to  him  a  little 
lof,  quickly,  when  I  shall  walk  in  the  gar 
den."  She  turned  away  with  a  pretty  wave 
of  her  fan  to  Demorest,  and  calling  out,  "  I 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     131 

go  to  make  an  assignation  with  my  memory," 
laughed  again,  and  lazily  passed  into  the 
shadow.  An  ominous  silence  on  the  ve 
randa  followed,  broken  finally  by  Mrs.  Dein- 
orest. 

"  I  don't  think  it  was  necessary  for  you 
to  show  your  dislike  to  Dona  Rosita  quite 
so  plainly,"  she  said,  coldly,  slightly  ac 
centing  the  Puritan  stiffness,  which  any 
conjugal  tete-a-tete  lately  revived  in  her 
manner. 

"  I  show  dislike  of  Dona  Rosita  ?  "  stam 
mered  Demorest,  in  surprise.  "  Come,  Joan," 
he  added,  with  a  forgiving  smile,  "  you  don't 
mean  to  imply  that  I  dislike  her  because  I 
could  n't  get  up  a  thrilling  interest  in  an  old 
story  I  've  heard  from  every  gossip  in  the 
pueblo  since  I  can  remember." 

"  It 's  not  an  old  story  to  her"  said  Joan, 
dryly,  "  and  even  if  it  were,  you  might  reflect 
that  all  people  are  not  as  anxious  to  forget 
the  past  as  you  are." 

Demorest  drew  back  to  let  the  shaft  glance 


132     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

by.  "  The  story  is  old  enough,  at  least  for 
her  to  have  had  a  dozen  flirtations,  as  you 
know,  since  then,"  he  returned  gently,  "  and 
I  don't  think  she  herself  seriously  believes  in 
it.  But  let  that  pass.  I  am  sorry  I  offended 
her.  I  had  no  idea  of  doing  so.  As  a  rule, 
I  think  she  is  not  so  easily  offended.  But  I 
shall  apologize  to  her."  He  stopped  and 
approached  nearer  his  wife  in  a  half -timid, 
half -tentative  affection.  "  As  to  my  f  orget- 
fulness  of  the  past,  Joan,  even  if  it  were 
true,  I  have  had  little  cause  to  forget  it 
lately.  Your  friend,  Corwin  "  — 

"  I  must  insist  upon  your  not  calling  him 
my  friend,  Kichard,"  interrupted  Joan,  sharp 
ly,  "  considering  that  it  was  through  your 
indiscretion  in  coming  to  us  for  the  buggy 
that  night,  that  he  suspected  "  — 

She  stopped  suddenly,  for  at  that  moment 
a  startled  little  shriek,  quickly  subdued,  rang 
through  the  garden.  Demorest  ran  hurriedly 
down  the  steps  in  the  direction  of  the  outcry. 
Joan  followed  more  cautiously.  At  the  first 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.   133 

turning  of  the  path  Dona  Rosita  almost  fell 
into  his  arms.  She  was  breathless  and  trem 
bling,  but  broke  into  a  hysterical  laugh. 

"  I  have  such  a  fear  come  to  me  —  I  cry 
out !  I  think  I  have  seen  a  man  ;  but  it  was 
nothing  —  nothing !  I  am  a  fool.  It  is  no 
one  here." 

"  But  where  did  you  see  anything  ?  "  said 
Joan,  coming  up. 

Rosita  flew  to  her  side.     "  Where  ?     Oh, 
]iere  !  —  everywhere !     Ah,  I  am  a  fool ! 
She  was  laughing  now,   albeit   there  were 
tears  glistening  on  her  lashes  when  she  laid 
her  head  on  Joan's  shoulder. 

"  It  was  some  fancy  —  some  resemblance 
you  saw  in  that  queer  cactus,"  said  Demo- 
rest,  gently.  "  It  is  quite  natural,  I  was  my 
self  deceived  the  other  night.  But  I  '11  look 
around  to  satisfy  you.  Take  Dona  Rosita 
back  to  the  veranda,  Joan.  But  don't  be 
alarmed,  dear  —  it  was  only  an  illusion." 

He  turned  away.  When  his  figure  was 
lost  in  the  entwining  foliage,  Dona  Rosita 


134    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

seized  Joan's  shoulder  and  dragged  her  face 
down  to  a  level  with  her  own. 

"  It  was  something  !  "  she  whispered 
quickly. 

"Who?" 

"It  was  —  Him!" 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Joan,  nevertheless  cast 
ing  a  hurried  glance  around  her. 

"  Have  no  fear,"  said  Dona  Rosita  quick 
ly,  "  he  is  gone  —  I  saw  him  pass  away  —  so  I 
But  it  was  He  —  Huanson.  I  recognize  him. 
I  forget  him  never." 

"  Are  you  sure  ?  " 

"  Have  I  the  eyes  ?  the  memory  ?  Madre 
de  Dios!  Am  I  a  lunatico  too?  Look! 
He  have  stood  there  —  so." 

"  Then  you  think  he  knew  you  were  here  ?  " 

"  Quien  sabe  ?  " 

"  And  that  he  came  here  to  see  you  ?  " 

Dona  Rosita  caught  her  again  by  the 
shoulders,  and  with  her  lips  in  Joan's  ear, 
said  with  the  intensest  and  most  deliberate 
of  emphasis : 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    135 

«  NO ! " 

"  What  in  Heaven's  name  brought  him 
here  then  ?  " 

"  You  !  " 

"  Are  you  crazy?  " 

"  You !  you !  you! "  repeated  Dona  Rosita, 
with  crescendo  energy.  "  I  have  come  upon 
him  here  ;  where  he  stood  and  look  at  the 
veranda,  absorrrb  of  you.  You  move — he 

fly." 

"Hush!" 

"  Ah,  yes !  I  have  said  I  give  him  to  you. 
And  he  came,  Bueno"  murmured  Dona  Ro- 
sita,  with  a  half -resigned,  half -superstitious 
gesture. 

"  Will  you  be  quiet !  " 

It  was  the  sound  of  Demorest's  feet  on 
the  gravel  path,  returning  from  his  fruitless 
search.  He  had  seen  nothing.  It  must 
have  been  Dona  Rosita's  fancy. 

"  She  was  just  saying  she  thought  she  had 
been  mistaken,"  said  Joan,  quietly.  "  Let 
us  go  in  —  it  is  rather  chilly  here,  and  I  be 
gin  to  feel  creepy  too." 


136    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Nevertheless,  as  they  entered  the  house 
again,  and  the  light  of  the  hall  lantern  fell 
upon  her  face,  Demorest  thought  he  had 
never  but  once  before  seen  her  look  so  ner 
vously  and  animatedly  beautiful. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  following  day,  when  Mr.  Ezekiel 
Cor  win  had  delivered  his  letters  of  intro 
duction,  and  thoroughly  canvassed  the  scant 
mercantile  community  of  San  Buenaventura 
with  considerable  success,  he  deposited  his 
carpet-bag  at  the  stage  office  in  the  posada, 
and  found  to  his  chagrin  that  he  had  still 
two  hours  to  wait  before  the  coach  arrived. 
After  a  vaiii  attempt  to  impart  cheerful  but 
disparaging  criticism  of  the  pueblo  and  its 
people  to  Senor  Mateo  and  his  wife — whose 
external  courtesy  had  been  visibly  increased 
by  a  line  from  Demorest,  but  whose  confi 
dence  towards  the  stranger  had  not  been  ex- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     137 

tended  in  the  same  proportion  —  he  gave  it 
up,  and  threw  himself  lazily  on  a  wooden 
bench  in  the  veranda,  already  hacked  with 
the  initials  of  his  countrymen,  and  drawing 
a  jack-knife  from  his  pocket,  he  began  to 
add  to  that  emblazonry  the  trade-mark  of 
the  Panacea  —  as  a  casual  advertisement. 
During  its  progress,  however,  he  was  struck 
by  the  fact  that  while  no  one  seemed  to  enter 
the  posada  through  the  stage  office,  the  num 
ber  of  voices  in  the  adjoining  room  seemed 
to  increase,  and  the  ministrations  of  Mateo 
and  his  wife  became  more  feverishly  occu 
pied  with  their  invisible  guests.  It  seemed 
to  Ezekiel  that  consequently  there  must  be 
a  second  entrance  which  he  had  not  seen, 
and  this  added  to  the  circumstance  that  one 
or  two  lounging  figures  who  had  been  ap 
proaching  unaccountably  disappeared  before 
reaching  the  veranda,  induced  him  to  rise 
and  examine  the  locality.  A  few  paces  be 
yond  was  an  alley,  but  it  appeared  to  be  al 
ready  blocked  by  several  cigarette-smoking, 


138    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

short-jacketed  men  who  were  leaning  against 
its  walls,  and  showed  no  inclination  to  make 
way  for  him.  Checked,  but  not  daunted, 
Ezekiel  coolly  returned  to  the  stage  office, 
and  taking  the  first  opportunity  when  Mateo 
passed  through  the  rear  door,  followed  him. 
As  he  expected,  the  innkeeper  turned  to  the 
left  and  entered  a  large  room  filled  with  to 
bacco  smoke  and  the  local  habitues  of  the 
posada.  But  Ezekiel,  shrewdly  surmising 
that  the  private  entrance  must  be  in  the  op 
posite  direction,  turned  to  the  right  along 
the  passage  until  he  came  unexpectedly  upon 
.the  corridor  of  the  usual  courtyard,  or  patio, 
of  every  Mexican  hostelry,  closed  at  one  end 
by  a  low  adobe  wall,  in  which  there  was  a 
door.  The  free  passage  around  the  corridor 
was  interrupted  by  wide  partitions,  fitted  up 
with  tables  and  benches,  like  stalls,  opening 
upon  the  courtyard  where  a  few  stunted  fig 
and  orange  trees  still  grew.  As  the  court 
yard  seemed  to  be  the  only  communication 
between  the  passage  he  had  left  and  the  door 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    139 

in  the  wall,  he  was  about  to  cross  it,  when 
the  voices  of  two  men  in  the  compartment 
struck  his  ears.  Although  one  was  evidently 
an  American's,  Ezekiel  was  instinctively  con 
vinced  that  they  were  speaking  in  English 
only  for  greater  security  against  being  un 
derstood  by  the  frequenters  of  the  posada. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  this  was  an  in 
nocent  challenge  to  the  curiosity  of  Ezekiel 
that  he  instantly  accepted.  He  drew  back 
carefully  into  the  shadow  of  the  partition  as 
one  of  the  voices  asked  — 

"  Was  n't  that  Johnson  just  come  in  ?  " 

There  was  a  movement  as  if  some  one  had 
risen  to  look  over  the  compartment,  but  the 
gathering  twilight  completely  hid  Ezekiel. 

"No!" 

"  He  's  late.  Suppose  he  don't  come  — 
or  back  out  ?  " 

The  other  man  broke  into  a  grim  laugh. 
"  I  reckon  you  don't  know  Johnson  yet,  or 
you  'd  understand  this  yer  little  game  o'  his 
is  just  the  one  idea  o'  his  life.  He 's  been 


140     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

two  years  on  that  man's  track,  and  he  ain't 
goin'  to  back  out  now  that  he  's  got  a  dead 
sure  thing  on  him." 

"  But  why  is  he  so  keen  about  it,  anyway  ? 
It  don't  seem  nat'ral  for  a  business  man  built 
after  Johnson's  style,  and  a  rich  man  to  boot, 
to  go  into  this  detective  business.  It  ain't  the 
reward,  we  know  that.  Is  it  an  old  grudge  ?" 

"  You  bet !  "  The  speaker  paused,  and 
then  in  a  lower  voice,  which  taxed  EzekieFs 
keen  ear  to  the  uttermost,  resumed :  "  It 's 
said  up  in  Frisco  that  Cherokee  Bob  knew 
suthin'  agin  Johnson  way  back  in  the  States  ; 
anyhow,  I  believe  it's  understood  that  they 
came  across  the  plains  together  in  '50  — 
and  Bob  hounded  Johnson  and  blackmailed 
him  here  where  he  was  livin',  even  to  the 
point  of  makin'  him  help  him  on  the  road  or 
give  information,  until  one  day  Johnson 
bucked  against  it  —  kicked  over  the  traces 
—  and  swore  he  'd  be  revenged  on  Bob,  and 
then  just  settled  himself  down  to  that  busi 
ness.  Wotever  he  'd  been  and  done  himself 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    141 

he  made  it  all  right  with  the  sheriff  here ; 
and  I've  heard  ez  it  wasn't  anything  criminal 
or  that  sort,  but  that  it  was  o'  some  private 
trouble  that  he  'd  confided  to  that  hound 
Bob,  and  Bob  had  threatened  to  tell  agen 
him.  That 's  the  grudge  they  say  Johnson 
has,  and  that 's  why  he  's  allowed  to  be  the 
head  devil  in  this  yer  affair.  It 's  an  un 
derstood  thing,  too,  that  the  sheriff  and  the 
police  ain't  goin'  to  interfere  if  Johnson  ac 
cidentally  blows  the  top  of  Bob's  head  off  in 
the  scrimmage  of  a  capter." 

"  And  I  reckon  Bob  would  n't  hesitate  to 
do  the  same  thing  to  him  when  he  finds  out 
that  Johnson  has  given  him  away  ?  " 

"  I  reckon,"  said  the  other,  sententiously, 
"  for  it 's  Johnson's  knowledge  of  the  coun 
try  and  the  hoss  -  stealers  that  are  in  with 
Bob's  gang  of  road  agents  that  made  it  easy 
for  him  to  buy  up  and  win  over  Bob's  friends 
here,  so  that  they  'd  help  to  trap  him." 

"  It 's  pretty  rough  on  Bob  to  be  sold  out 
in  that  way,"  said  the  second  speaker,  sym- 
pathizingly. 


142     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  If  they  were  white  men,  p'rhaps,"  re 
turned  his  companion,  contemptuously, "  but 
this  yer  's  a  case  of  Injin  agen  Injin,  ez  the 
men  are  Mexican  half-breeds  just  as  Bob  's 
a  half  Cherokee.  The  sooner  that  kind  o' 
cross  cattle  exterminate  each  other  the  better 
it'll  be  for  the  country.  It  takes  a  white 
man  like  Johnson  to  set  'em  by  the  ears." 

A  silence  followed.  Ezekiel,  beginning  to 
be  slightly  bored  with  his  cheaply  acquired 
but  rather  impractical  information,  was  about 
to  slip  back  into  the  passage  again  when 
he  was  arrested  by  a  laugh  from  the  first 
speaker. 

"  What 's  the  matter  ?  "  growled  the  other. 
"  Do  you  want  to  bring  the  whole  posada 
out  here  ?  " 

"  I  was  only  thinkin'  what  a  skeer  them 
innocent  greenhorn  passengers  will  get  just 
ez  they're  snoozing  off  for  the  night,  ten 
miles  from  here,"  responded  his  friend,  with 
a  chuckle.  "  Wonder  ef  anybody  's  goin' 
up  from  here  besides  that  patent  medicine 
softy." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    143 

Ezekiel  stopped  as  if  petrified. 

"  Ef  the fools  keep  quiet  they  won't 

be  hurt,  for  our  men  will  be  ready  to  chip 
in  the  moment  of  the  attack.  But  we  've 
got  to  let  the  attack  be  made  for  the  sake 
of  the  evidence.  And  if  we  warn  off  the 
passengers  from  going  this  trip,  and  let  the 
stage  go  up  empty,  Bob  would  suspect  some 
thing  and  vamose.  But  here  's  Johnson  !  " 

The  door  in  the  adobe  wall  had  suddenly 
opened,  and  a  figure  in  a  serape  entered  the 
patio.  Ezekiel,  whose  curiosity  was  whetted 
with  indignation  at  the  ignominious  part  as 
signed  to  him  in  this  comedy,  forgot  even 
his  risk  of  detection  by  the  new-comer,  who 
advanced  quickly  towards  the  compartment. 
When  he  had  reached  it  he  said,  in  a  tone 
of  bitterness  : 

"  The  game  's  up,  gentlemen,  and  the  whole 
thing  is  blown.  The  scoundrel  has  got  some 
confederate  here  — for  he  's  been  seen  openly 
on  the  road  near  Demorest's  ranch,  and  the 
band  have  had  warning  and  dispersed.  We 


144     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

must  find  out  the  traitor,  and  take  our  pre 
cautions  for  the  next  time.  Who  is  that 
there  ?  I  don't  know  him." 

He  was  pointing  to  Ezekiel,  who  had 
started  eagerly  forward  at  the  first  sound  of 
his  voice.  The  two  occupants  of  the  com 
partment  rose  at  the  same  moment,  leaped 
into  the  courtyard,  and  confronted  Ezekiel. 
Surrounded  by  the  three  menacing  figures 
he  did  not  quail,  but  remained  intently  gaz 
ing  upon  the  new-comer.  Then  his  mouth 
opened,  and  he  drawled  lazily  : 

"  Wa'al,  ef  it  ain't  Squire  Blandford,  of 
North  Liberty,  Connecticut,  I  'm  a  treed 
coon.  Squire  Blandford,  how  do  you  do  ?  " 

The  stranger  drew  back  in  undisguised 
amazement ;  the  two  men  glanced  hurriedly 
at  each  other ;  Ezekiel  alone  remained  cool, 
smiling,  imperturbable,  and  triumphant. 

"  Who  are  you,  sir  ?  I  do  not  know  you," 
demanded  the  new-comer,  roughly. 

"  Like  ez  not,"  said  Corwin  dryly,  "  it 's 
a  matter  o'  four  year  sense  I  lived  in  your 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    145 

house.  Even  Dick  Demorest  —  you  knew 
Dick  ?  —  did  n't  know  me  ;  but  I  reckon  that 
Mrs.  Blandford  as  used  to  be  "  — 

"That's  enough,"  said  Blandford  —  for 
it  was  he  —  suddenly  mastering  both  him 
self  and  Corwin  by  a  supreme  emphasis  of 
will  and  gesture.  "  Wait !  "  Then  turning 
to  the  two  others  who  were  discreetly  regard 
ing  the  blank  adobe  wall  before  them,  he 
said,  "  Excuse  me  for  a  few  minutes,  gentle 
men.  There  is  no  hurry  now.  I  will  see 
you  later ; "  and  with  an  imperative  wave  of 
his  hand  motioned  Ezekiel  to  precede  him 
into  the  passage,  and  followed  him. 

He  did  not  speak  until  they  entered  the 
stage  office,  when  passing  through  it  he 
said  peremptorily,  "  Follow  me."  The  few 
loungers,  who  seemed  to  recognize  him,  made 
way  for  him  with  a  singular  deference  that 
impressed  Ezekiel,  already  dominated  by  his 
manner.  The  first  perception  in  his  mind 
was  that  Blandford  had  in  some  strange  way 
succeeded  to  Demorest's  former  imperious 


146     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

character.  There  was  no  trace  left  of  the  old 
gentle  subjection  to  Joan's  prim  precision. 
Ezekiel  followed  him  out  of  the  office  as  un 
resistingly  as  he  had  followed  Demorest  into 
the  stables  on  that  eventful  night.  They 
passed  down  the  narrow  street  until  Bland- 
ford  suddenly  stopped  short  and  turned  into 
the  crumbling  doorway  of  one  of  the  low 
adobe  buildings  and  entered  an  apartment. 
It  seemed  to  be  the  ordinary  living-room 
of  the  house,  made  more  domestic  by  the 
presence  of  a  silk  counterpaned  bed  in  one 
corner,  a  prie  Dieu  and  crucifix,  and  one  or 
two  articles  of  bedchamber  furniture.  A 
woman  was  sitting  in  deshabille  by  the  win 
dow  ;  a  man  was  smoking  on  a  lounge 
against  the  wall.  Blandford,  in  the  same 
peremptory  manner,  addressed  a  command 
in  Spanish  to  the  inmates,  who  immediately 
abandoned  the  apartment  to  the  seeming 
trespasser. 

Motioning  his  companion  to  a  seat  on  the 
lounge  just  vacated,  Blandford  folded  his 
arms  and  stood  erect  before  him. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     147 

"  Well,"  he  said,  with  quick,  business  con 
ciseness,  "  what  do  you  want  ?  " 

Ezekiel  was  staggered  out  of  his  compla 
cency. 

"Wa'al,"  he  stammered,  "  I  only  reckoned 
to  ask  the  news,  ez  we  are  old  friends  —  I "  — 

"  How  much  do  you  want  ?  "  repeated 
Blandford,  impatiently. 

Ezekiel  was  mystified,  yet  expectant.  "  I 
can't  say  ez  I  exakly  understand,"  he  began. 

"  How  —  much  —  money  —  do  —  you  — 
want  ?  "  continued  Blandford,  with  frigid  ac 
curacy,  "  to  get  up  and  get  out  of  this  place  ?  " 

"  Wa'al,  consideren  ez  I  'in  travellin'  here 
ez  the  only  authorized  agent  of  a  first-class 
Frisco  Drug  House,"  said  Ezekiel,  with  a 
mingling  of  mortification,  pride,  and  hope 
fulness,  "  unless  you  're  travellin'  in  the  op 
position  business,  I  don't  see  what 's  that  to 
you." 

Blandford  regarded  him  searchingly  for 
an  instant.  "  Who  sent  you  here  ?  " 

"  Dilworth  &  Dusenberry,  Battery  Street, 


148      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Sar  Francisco.  Hev  their  card?"  said  Eze- 
kiel,  taking  one  from  his  waistcoat-pocket. 

"  Corwin,"  said  Blandford,  sternly,  "  what 
ever  your  business  is  here  you  '11  find  it  will 

pay  you  better,  a sight,  to  be  frank  with 

me  and  stop  this  Yankee  shuffling.  You  say 
you  have  been  with  Demorest  — what  has  he 
got  to  do  with  your  business  here?" 

"Nothin',"  said  Ezekiel.  "I  reckon  he 
wos  ez  astonished  to  see  me  ez  you  are." 

"  And  did  n't  he  send  you  here  to  seek 
me  ?  "  said  Blandford,  impatiently. 

"  Considerin'  he  believes  you  a  dead  man, 
I  reckon  not." 

Blandford  gave  a  hard,  constrained  laugh. 
After  a  pause,  still  keeping  his  eyes  fixed  on 
Ezekiel,  he  said : 

"  Then  your  recognition  of  me  was  acci 
dental?" 

"Wa'al,  yes.  And  ez  I  never  took  much 
stock  in  the  stories  that  you  were  washed  off 
the  Warensboro  Bridge,  I  ain't  much  aston 
ished  at  finding  you  agin." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     149 

"  What  did  you  believe  happened  to  me  ?  " 
said  Blandford,  less  brusquely. 

Ezekiel  noticed  the  softening ;  he  felt  his 
own  turn  coming.  "I  kalkilated  you  had 
reasons  for  going  off,  leaving  no  address  be 
hind  you,"  he  drawled. 

"What  reasons?"  asked  Blandford,  with 
a  sudden  relapse  to  his  former  harshness. 

"  Wa'al,  Squire  Blandford,  sens  you  wanter 
know  —  I  reckon  your  business  was  n't  payin', 
and  there  was  a  matter  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  ye  took  witn  ye,  that  your  cred 
itors  would  hev  liked  to  hev  back." 

"  Who  dare  say  that?"  demanded  Bland- 
ford,  angrily. 

"  Your  wife  that  was  —  Mrs.  Demorest  ez 
is  —  told  it  to  her  mother,"  returned  Ezekiel, 
lazily. 

The  blow  struck  deeper  than  even  Eze- 
kiel's  dry  malice  imagined.  For  an  instant, 
Blandford  remained  stupefied.  In  the  five 
years'  retrospect  of  his  resolution  on  that 
fatal  night,  whatever  doubt  of  its  wisdom 


150     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

might  have  obtruded  itself  upon  him,  he  had 
never  thought  of  this.  He  had  been  willing 
to  believe  that  his  wife  had  quietly  forgotten 
him  as  well  as  her  treachery  to  him,  he  had 
passively  acquiesced  in  the  results  of  that 
forgetf ulness  and  his  own  silence ;  he  had 
been  conscious  that  his  wound  had  healed 
sooner  than  he  expected,  but  if  this  con 
sciousness  had  enabled  him  to  extend  a  cer 
tain  passive  forgiveness  to  his  wife  and  Dem- 
orest,  it  was  always  with  the  conviction  that 
his  mysterious  effacement  had  left  an  inex 
plicable  shadow  upon  them  which  their  con 
sciences  alone  could  explain.  But  for  this  un 
just,  vulgar,  and  degrading  interpretation  of 
his  own  act  of  expiation,  he  was  totally  unpre 
pared.  It  completely  crushed  whatever  sen 
timent  remained  of  that  act  in  the  horrible 
irony  of  finding  himself  put  upon  his  defence 
before  the  world,  without  being  able  now  to 
offer  the  real  cause.  The  anguish  of  that  night 
had  gone  forever  ;  but  the  ridiculous  inter 
pretation  of  it  had  survived,  and  would  sur- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.      151 

vive  it.  In  the  eyes  of  the  man  before  him 
he  was  not  a  wronged  husband,  but  an 
absconding  petty  defaulter,  whom  he  had 
just  detected ! 

His  mind  was  quickly  made  up.  In  that 
instant  he  had  resolved  upon  a  step  as  fate 
ful  as  his  former  one,  and  a  fitting  climax 
to  its  results.  For  five  years  he  had  clearly 
misunderstood  his  attitude  towards  his  treach 
erous  wife  and  perjured  friend.  Thanks  to 
this  practical,  selfish  machine  before  him,  he 
knew  it  now. 

"  Look  here,  Corwin,"  he  said,  turning 
upon  Ezekiel  a  colorless  face,  but  a  steady, 
merciless  eye.  "  I  can  guess,  without  your 
telling  me,  what  lies  may  be  circulated  about 
me  by  the  man  and  woman  who  know  that  I 
have  only  to  declare  myself  alive  to  convict 
them  of  infamy  —  perhaps  even  of  criminal 
ity  before  the  law.  You  are  not  my  friend, 
or  you  would  not  have  believed  them  ;  if  you 
are  theirs,  you  have  two  courses  open  to  you 
now.  Keep  this  meeting  to  yourself  and 


152     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

trust  to  my  mercy  to  keep  it  a  secret  also ; 
or,  tell  Mrs.  Demorest  that  you  have  seen 
Mr.  Johnson,  who  is  not  afraid  to  come  for 
ward  at  any  moment  and  proclaim  that  he  is 
Edward  Blandford,  her  only  lawful  husband. 
Choose  which  course  you  like  —  it  is  nothing 
more  to  me." 

"  Wa'al,  I  reckon  that,  as  far  as  I  know 
Mrs.  Demorest,"  said  Ezekiel,  dryly,  "  it 
don't  make  the  least  difference  to  her  either ; 
but  if  you  want  to  know  my  opinion  o'  this 
matter,  it  is  that  neither  you  nor  Demorest 
exactly  understand  that  woman.  I  've  known 
Joan  Salisbury  since  she  was  so  high,  but  if 
ye  expected  me  to  tell  you  wot  she  was  goin' 
to  do  next,  I  'd  be  able  to  tell  ye  where  the 
next  flash  o'  lightnin'  would  strike.  It 's 
wot  you  don't  expect  of  Joan  Salisbury  that 
she  does.  And  the  best  proof  of  it  is  that 
she  filed  papers  for  a  divorce  agin  you  in 
Chicago  and  got  it  by  default  a  few  weeks 
afore  she  married  Demorest  —  and  you  don't 
know  it." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     153 

Blandford  recoiled.  "Impossible,"  he 
said,  but  his  voice  too  plainly  showed  how 
clearly  its  possibility  struck  him  now. 

"It 's  so,  but  it  was  kept  secret  by  Deacon 
Salisbury.  I  overheerd  it.  Wa'al,  that 's 
a  proof  that  you  don't  understand  Joan,  I 
reckon.  And  considerin'  that  Demorest  him 
self  don't  know  it,  ez  I  found  out  only  the 
other  day  in  talking  to  him,  I  kalkilate  I  'm 
safe  in  sayin'  that  you  're  neither  o'  you  quite 
up  to  Deacon  Salisbury's  darter  in  nat'ral 
cuteness.  I  don't  like  to  obtrude  my  opinion, 
Squire  Blandford,  ez  we  're  old  friends,  but 
I  do  say,  that  wot  with  Demorest's  prematoo- 
riness  and  yer  own  hangfiredness,  it 's  a  good 
thing  that  you  two  worldly  men  hev  got 
Joan  Salisbury  to  stand  up  for  North  Liberty 
and  keep  it  from  bein'  scandalized  by  the 
ungodly.  Ef  it  had  n't  been  for  her  smart 
ness  whar  y'd  both  be  landed  now  ?  There  's 
a  heap  in  Christian  bringin'  up,  and  a  power 
in  grace,  Squire  Blandford." 

His  hard,   dry   face   was  for   an   instant 


154      THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

transfigured  by  a  grim  fealty  and  the  dull 
glow  of  some  sectarian  clannishness.  Or 
was  it  possible  that  this  woman's  personality 
had  in  some  mysterious  way  disturbed  his 
rooted  selfishness? 

During  his  speech  Blandford  had  walked 
to  the  window.  When  Corwin  had  ceased 
speaking,  Blandford  turned  towards  him  with 
an  equally  changed  face  and  cold  impertur 
bability  that  astonished  him,  and  held  out  his 
hand.  "  Let  bygones  be  bygones,  Corwin  — 
whether  we  ever  meet  again  or  not.  Yet  if 
I  can  do  anything  for  you  for  the  sake  of  old 
times,  I  am  ready  to  do  it.  I  have  some 
power  here  and  in  San  Francisco,"  he  con 
tinued,  with  a  slight  touch  of  pride,  u  that 
is  n't  dependent  upon  the  mere  name  I  may 
travel  under.  I  have  a  purpose  in  coming 
here." 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Ezekiel,  dryly.  "  I  heard 
it  all  from  your  two  friends.  You  're  huntin' 
some  man  that  did  you  an  injury." 

"  I  'm  hunting  down  a  dog  who,  suspecting 


THE  ARGON  A  UTS  OF  NOR  TH  LIBERTY.     155 

I  had  some  secret  in  emigrating  here,  tried 
to  blackmail  and  ruin  me,"  said  Blanclford, 
with  a  sudden  expression  of  hatred  that 
seemed  inconsistent  with  anything  that  Eze- 
kiel  had  ever  known  of  his  old  master's  char 
acter  —  "a  scoundrel  who  tried  to  break  up 
my  new  life  as  another  had  broken  up  the 
old."  He  stopped  and  recovered  himself 
with  a  short  laugh.  "  Well,  Ezekiel,  I  don't 
know  as  his  opinion  of  me  was  any  worse 
than  yours  or  hers.  And  until  I  catch  him 
to  clear  my  name  again,  I  let  the  other  slan 
derers  go." 

"  Wa'al,  I  reckon  you  might  lay  hands  on 
that  devil  yet,  and  not  far  away,  either.  I 
was  up  at  Demorest's  to-day,  and  I  heard 
Joan  and  a  skittish  sort  o'  Mexican  young 
lady  talkin'  about  some  tramp  that  had 
frightened  her.  And  Miss  Pico  said  "  — 

"  What !  Who  did  you  say  ?  "  demanded 
Blandford,  with  a  violent  start. 

"  Wa'al,  I  reckoned  I  heerd  the  first  name 
too  — Eosita." 


156     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

A  quick  flush  crossed  Blandford's  face, 
and  left  it  glowing  like  a  boy's. 

"Is  she  there?" 

"  Wa'al,  I  reckon  she 's  visitin'  Joan," 
said  Ezekiel,  narrowly  attentive  of  Bland- 
ford's  strange  excitement ;  "  but  wot  of  it  ?  " 

But  Blandford  had  utterly  forgotten  Eze- 
kiel's  presence.  He  had  remained  speechless 
and  flushed.  And  then,  as  if  suddenly  daz 
zled  by  an  inspiration,  he  abruptly  dashed 
from  the  room.  Ezekiel  heard  him  call  to 
his  passive  host  with  a  Spanish  oath,  but  be 
fore  he  could  follow,  they  had  both  hurriedly 
left  the  house. 

Ezekiel  glanced  around  him  and  contem 
platively  ran  his  fingers  through  his  beard. 
44  It  ain't  Joan  Salisbury  nor  Dick  Demorest 
ez  giv'  him  that  start !  Humph !  Wa'al  — 
I  wanter  know ! " 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    157 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MRS.  DEMOKEST  was  so  fascinated  by  the 
company  of  Dona  Rosita  Pico  and  her  roman 
tic  memories,  that  she  prevailed  upon  that 
heart-broken  but  scarcely  attenuated  young 
lady  to  prolong  her  visit  beyond  the  fort 
night  she  had  allotted  to  communion  with 
the  past.  For  a  day  or  two  following  her 
singular  experience  in  the  garden,  Mrs.  Demo- 
rest  plied  her  with  questions  regarding  the 
apparition  she  had  seen,  and  finally  extorted 
from  her  the  admission  that  she  could  not 
positively  swear  to  its  being  the  real  Johnson, 
or  even  a  perfectly  consistent  shade  of  that 
faithless  man.  When  Joan  pointed  out  to 
her  that  such  masculine  perfections  as  curl 
ing  raven  locks,  long  silken  mustachios,  and 
dark  eyes,  were  attributes  by  no  means  ex 
clusive  to  her  lover,  but  were  occasionally 
seen  among  other  less  favored  and  even 
equally  dangerous  Americans,  Dona  Rosita 


158    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

assented  with  less  objection  than  Joan  anti 
cipated.  "  Besides,  dear,"  said  Joan,  eying 
her  with  feline  watchfulness,  "it  is  four 
years  since  you've  seen  him,  and  surely 
the  man  has  either  shaved  since,  or  else  he 
took  a  ridiculous  vow  never  to  do  it,  and 
then  he  would  be  more  fully  bearded." 

But  Dona  E-osita  only  shook  her  pretty 
head.  "  Ah,  but  he  have  an  air  —  a  some 
thing  I  know  not  what  you  call  —  so."  She 
threw  her  shawl  over  her  left  shoulder,  and 
as  far  as  a  pair  of  soft  blue  eyes  and  com 
fortably  pacific  features  would  admit,  en 
deavored  to  convey  an  idea  of  wicked  and 
gloomy  abstraction. 

"  You  child,"  said  Joan,  — -  "  that 's  noth 
ing  ;  they  all  of  them  do  that.  Why,  there 
was  a  stranger  at  the  Oriental  Hotel  whom 
I  met  twice  when  I  was  there  —  just  as  mys 
terious,  romantic,  and  wicked-looking.  And 
in  fact  they  hinted  terrible  things  about  him. 
Well !  so  much  so,  that  Mr.  Demorest  was 
quite  foolish  about  my  being  barely  civil 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     159 

to  him  —  you  understand  —  and  "  —  She 
stopped  suddenly,  with  a  heightened  color 
under  the  fire  of  Rosita's  laughing  eyes. 

"  Ah  —  so  —  Dona  Discretion  !  Tell  to 
me  all.  Did  our  hoosband  eat  him  ?  " 

Joan's  features  suddenly  tightened  to  their 
old  Puritan  rigidity.  "  Mr.  Demorest  has 
reasons  —  abundant  reasons  —  to  thoroughly 
understand  and  trust  me,"  she  replied  in  an 
austere  voice. 

Rosita  looked  at  her  a  moment  in  mysti 
fication  and  then  shrugged  her  shoulders. 
The  conversation  dropped.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  worthy  of  being  recorded  that  from 
that  moment  the  usual  familiar  allusions, 
playful  and  serious,  to  Rosita's  mysterious 
visitor  began  to  diminish  in  frequency  and 
finally  ceased.  Even  the  news  brought  by 
Demorest  of  some  vague  rumor  in  the 
pueblo  that  an  intended  attack  on  the 
stage-coach  had  fbeen  frustrated  by  the 
authorities,  and  that  the  vicinity  had  been 
haunted  by  incognitos  of  both  parties,  failed 
to  revive  the  discussion. 


160    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Meantime  the  slight  excitement  that  had 
stirred  the  sluggish  life  of  the  pueblo  of 
San  Buenaventura  had  subsided.  The  po- 
sada  of  Senor  Mateo  had  lost  its  feverish 
and  perplexing  dual  life  ;  the  alley  behind 
it  no  longer  was  congested  by  lounging 
cigarette  smokers  ;  the  compartment  looking 
upon  the  silent  patio  was  unoccupied,  and 
its  chairs  and  tables  were  empty.  The  two 
deputy  sheriffs,  of  whom  Senor  Mateo  pre 
sumably  knew  very  little,  had  fled  ;  and  the 
mysterious  Senor  Johnson,  of  whom  he  — 
still  presumably  —  knew  still  less,  had  also 
disappeared.  For  Senor  Mateo's  knowledge 
of  what  transpired  in  and  about  his  posada, 
and  of  the  character  and  purposes  of  those 
who  frequented  it,  was  tinctured  by  grave 
and  philosophical  doubts.  This  courteous 
and  dignified  scepticism  generally  took  the 
formula  of  quien  sabe  to  all  frivolous  and 
mundane  inquiry.  He  would  affirm  with 
strict  verity  that  his  omelettes  were  unap 
proachable,  his  beds  miraculous,  his  aguar- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    161 

diente  supreme,  his  house  was  even  as  your 
own.  Beyond  these  were  questions  with 
which  the  simply  finite  and  always  discreet 
human  intellect  declined  to  grapple. 

The  disturbing  effect  of  Senor  Corwin 
upon  a  mind  thus  gravely  constituted  may 
be  easily  imagined.  Besides  Ezekiel's  in 
ordinate  capacity  for  useless  or  indiscreet 
information,  it  was  undeniable  that  his  pa 
tent  medicines  had  effected  a  certain  peace 
ful  revolutionary  movement  in  San  Buenaven 
tura.  A  simple  and  superstitious  community 
that  had  steadily  resisted  the  practical  do 
mestic  and  agricultural  American  improve 
ments,  succumbed  to  the  occult  healing  in 
fluences  of  the  Panacea  and  Jones's  Bitters. 
The  virtues  of  a  mysterious  balsam,  more  or 
less  illuminated  with  a  colored  mythological 
label,  deeply  impressed  them;  and  the  ex 
hibition  of  a  circular,  whereon  a  celestial 
visitant  was  represented  as  descending  with 
a  gross  of  Kogers'  Pills  to  a  suffering  but 
admiring  multitude,  touched  their  religious 


162     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

sympathies  to  such  an  extent  that  the  good 
Padre  Jose  was  obliged  to  warn  them  from 
the  pulpit  of  the  diabolical  character  of 
their  heresies  of  healing  —  with  the  natural 
result  of  yet  more  dangerously  advertising 
Ezekiel.  There  were  those  too  who  spoke 
under  their  breath  of  the  miraculous  ef 
ficacy  of  these  nostrums.  Had  not  Don 
Victor  Arguello,  whose  respectable  diges 
tion,  exhausted  by  continuous  pepper  and 
garlic,  failed  him  suddenly,  received  an  un 
expected  and  pleasurable  stimulus  from  the 
New  England  rum,  which  was  the  basis  of 
the  Jones  Bitters?  Had  not  the  baker, 
tremulous  from  excessive  aguardiente,  been 
soothed  and  sustained  by  the  invisible  mor 
phia,  judiciously  hidden  in  Blogg's  Nerve 
Tonic  ?  Nor  had  the  wily  Ezekiel  forgotten 
the  weaker  sex  in  their  maiden  and  mater 
nal  requirements.  Unguents,  that  made 
silken  their  black  but  somewhat  coarsely 
fibrous  tresses,  opened  charming  possibili 
ties  to  the  Senoritas  ;  while  soothing  syrups 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     163 

lent  a  peaceful  repose  to  many  a  distracted 
mother's  household.  The  success  of  Ezekiel 
was  so  marked  as  to  justify  his  return  at  the 
end  of  three  weeks  with  a  fresh  assortment 
and  an  undiminished  audacity. 

It  was  on  his  second  visit  that  the  scep 
tical,  non-committal  policy  of  Senor  Mateo 
was  sorely  tried.     Arriving  at  the  posada 
one  night,  Ezekiel  became   aware  that  his 
host  was  engaged  in  some  mysterious  con 
ference   with    a   visitor   who    had    entered 
through   the   ordinary  public   room.      The 
view  which  the  acute   Ezekiel  managed   to 
get  of   the  stranger,  however,  was   produc 
tive  of   no   further  discovery  than   that  he 
bore  a  faint  and  disreputable   resemblance 
to   Blandford,   and    was   handsome  after   a 
conscious,  reckless  fashion,  with  an   air  of 
mingled  bravado  and  conceit.      But  an  hour 
later,  as  Corwin  was  taking  the  cooler  air 
of   the  veranda   before   retiring   to    one  of 
the  miraculous  beds  of  the  posada,  he  was 
amazed  at  seeing  what  was  appareutly  Bland- 


164     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

ford  himself  emerge  on  horseback  from  the 
alley,  and  after  a  quick  glance  towards  the 
veranda,  canter  rapidly  up  the  street.  Eze- 
kiel's  first  impression  was  to  call  to  him, 
but  the  sudden  recollection  that  he  parted 
from  his  old  master  on  confidential  terms 
only  three  days  before  in  San  Francisco, 
and  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  be 
in  the  pueblo,  stopped  him  with  his  fingers 
meditatively  in  his  beard.  Then  he  turned  in 
to  the  posada,  and  hastily  summoned  Mateo. 

The  gentleman  presented  himself  in  a  state 
of  such  profound  scepticism  that  it  seemed 
to  have  already  communicated  itself  to  his 
shoulders,  and  gave  him  the  appearance 
of  having  shrugged  himself  into  the  room. 

"  Ha'ow  long  ago  did  Mr.  Johnson  get 
here  ?  "  asked  Corwin,  lazily. 

"  Ah  —  possibly  —  then  there  has  been 
a  Mr.  Johnson?"  This  is  a  polite  doubt 
of  his  own  perceptions  and  a  courteous  ac 
ceptance  of  his  questioner's. 

u  Wa'al,  I  guess  so.     Considerin'  I  jest 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     165 

saw  him  with  my  own  eyes,"  returned  Eze- 
kiel. 

"  Ah !  "  Mateo  was  relieved.  Might  he 
congratulate  the  Senor  Corwin,  who  must 
be  also  relieved,  and  shake  his  respected 
hand.  Bueno.  And  then  he  had  met  this 
Senor  Johnson?  doubtless  a  friend?  And 
he  was  well  ?  and  all  were  happy  ? 

"  Look  yer,  Mattayo  !  What  I  wanter 
know  ez  this.  When  did  that  man,  who 
has  just  ridden  out  of  your  alley,  come 
here?  Sabe  that  —  it's  a  plain  question." 

Ah  surely,  of  the  clearest  comprehension. 
JBueno.  It  may  have  been  last  week  —  or 
even  this  week  —  or  perhaps  yesterday  — 
or  of  a  possibility  to-day.  The  Senor  Cor 
win,  who  was  wise  and  omniscient,  would 
comprehend  that  the  difficulty  lay  in  decid 
ing  who  was  that  man.  Perhaps  a  friend  of 
the  Senor  Corwin  —  perhaps  only  one  who 
looked  like  him.  There  existed  —  might 
Mateo  point  out  —  a  doubt. 

Ezekiel   regarded   Mateo  with  a   certain 


166     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

grim  appreciation.  "  Wa'al,  is  there  any 
body  here  who  looks  like  Johnson  ?  " 

Again  there  were  the  difficulty  of  ascer 
taining  perfectly  how  the  Senor  Johnson 
looked.  If  the  Senor  Johnson  was  Ameri 
cano,  doubtless  there  were  other  Ameri 
canos  who  had  resembled  him.  It  was 
possible.  The  Senor  Corwin  had  doubt 
less  observed  for  a  little  space  a  caballero 
who  was  here,  as  it  were,  in  the  instant  of 
the  appearance  of  Senor  Johnson?  Pos 
sibly  there  was  a  resemblance,  and  yet  — 

Corwin  had  certainly  noticed  this  resem 
blance,  but  it  did  not  suit  his  cautious  in 
tellect  to  fall  in  with  any  prevailing  scepti 
cism  of  his  host.  Satisfied  in  his  mind  that 
Mateo  was  concealing  something  from  him, 
and  equally  satisfied  that  he  would  sooner 
or  later  find  it  out,  he  grinned  diabolically 
in  the  face  of  that  worthy  man,  and  sought 
the  meditation  of  his  miraculous  couch. 
When  he  had  departed,  the  sceptic  turned 
to  his  wife : 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    167 

"This   animal   has   been   sniffing  at   the 

trail." 

"  Truly  —  but  Mother  of  God  —where  is 
the  discretion  of  our  friend.  If  he  will 
continue  to  haunt  the  pueblo  like  a  love 
sick  chicken,  he  will  get  his  neck  wrung 

yet." 

Following  out  an  ingenious  idea  of  his 
own,  Ezekiel  called  the  next  day  on  the 
Demorests,  and  in  some  occult  fashion  ob 
tained  an  invitation  to  stay  under  their  hos 
pitable  roof  during  his  sojourn  in  Buena 
ventura.  Perfectly  aware  that  he  owed  this 
courtesy  more  to  Joan  than  to  her  husband, 
it  is  probable  that  his  grim  enjoyment  was 
not  diminished  by  the  fact ;  while  Joan,  for 
reasons  of  her  own,  preferred  the  constraint 
which  the  presence  of  another  visitor  put 
upon  Demorest's  uxoriousness.  Of  late, 
too,  there  were  times  when  Dona  Rosita's 
naive  intelligence,  which  was  not  unlike  the 
embarrassing  perceptions  of  a  bright  and 
half-spoiled  child,  was  in  her  way,  and  she 


168     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

would  willingly  have  shared  the  young 
lady's  company  with  her  husband  had  Demo- 
rest  shown  any  sympathy  for  the  girl.  It  was 
in  the  faint  hope  that  Ezekiel  might  in  some 
way  beguile  Rosita' s  wandering  attention  that 
she  had  invited  him.  The  only  difficulty 
lay  in  his  uncouthness,  and  in  presenting  to 
the  heiress  of  the  Picos  a  man  who  had 
been  formerly  her  own  servant.  Had  she 
attempted  to  conceal  that  fact  she  was  satis 
fied  that  Ezekiel's  independence  and  natu 
ral  predilection  for  embarrassing  situations 
would  have  inevitably  revealed  it.  She  had 
even  gone  so  far  as  to  consider  the  propriety 
of  investing  him  with  a  poor  relationship  to 
her  family,  when  Dona  Rosita  herself  hap 
pily  stopped  all  further  trouble.  On  her 
very  first  introduction  to  him,  that  charming 
young  lady  at  once  accepted  him  as  a  lunatic 
whose  brains  were  turned  by  occult,  scien 
tific,  and  medical  study  !  Ah !  she,  Rosita, 
had  heard  of  such  cases  before.  Had  not  a 
paternal  ancestor  of  hers,  one  Don  Diego 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    169 

Castro,  believed  he  had  discovered  the  elixir 
of  youth.  Had  he  not  to  that  end  refused 
even  to  wash  him  the  hand,  to  cut  him  the 
nail  of  the  finger  and  the  hair  of  the  head  ! 
Exalted  by  that  discovery,  had  he  not  been 
unsparingly  uncomplimentary  to  all  human 
ity,  especially  to  the  weaker  sex  ?  Even  as 
the  Senor  Corwin ! 

Far  from  being  offended  at  this  ingenious 
interpretation  of  his  character,  Ezekiel  ex 
hibited  a  dry  gratification  over  it,  and  even 
conceived  an  unwholesome  admiration  of  the 
fair  critic ;  he  haunted  her  presence  and 
preoccupied  her  society  far  beyond  Joan's 
most  sanguine  expectations.  He  sat  in  open- 
mouthed  enjoyment  of  her  at  the  table,  he 
waylaid  her  in  the  garden,  he  attempted  to 
teach  her  English.  Dona  Rosita  received  these 
extraordinary  advances  in  a  no  less  extraordi 
nary  manner.  In  the  scant  masculine  atmos 
phere  of  the  house,  and  the  somewhat  rigid 
New  England  reserve  that  still  pervaded  it, 
perhaps  she  languished  a  little,  and  was  not 


170     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

averse  to  a  slight  flirtation,  even  with  a 
madman.  Besides,  she  assumed  the  attitude" 
of  exercising  a  wholesome  restraint  over  him. 
"  If  we  are  not  found  dead  in  our  bed  one 
morning,  and  extracted  of  our  blood  for  a 
cordial,  you  shall  thank  to  me  for  it,"  she 
said  to  Joan.  "  Also  for  the  not  empoisoning 
of  the  coffee  !  " 

So  she  permitted  him  to  carry  a  chair  or 
hammock  for  her  into  the  garden,  to  fetch 
the  various  articles  which  she  was  con 
tinually  losing,  and  which  he  found  with  his 
usual  penetration  ;  and  to  supply  her  with 
information,  in  which,  however,  he  exercised 
an  unwonted  caution.  On  the  other  hand, 
certain  naive  recollections  and  admissions, 
which  in  the  quality  of  a  voluble  child  she 
occasionally  imparted  to  this  "  madman  "  in 
return,  were  in  the  proportion  of  three  to 
one. 

It  had  been  a  hot  day,  and  even  the  usual 
sunset  breeze  had  failed  that  evening  to 
rock  the  tops  of  the  outlying  pine-trees  or 


OF 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    171 

cool  the  heated  tiles  of  the  pueblo  roofs. 
There  was  a  hush  and  latent  expectancy  in 
the  air  that  reacted  upon  the  people  with 
feverish  unrest  and  uneasiness  ;  even  a  lull 
in  the  faintly  whispering  garden  around  the 
Demorests'  casa  had  affected  the  spirits  of 
its  inmates,  causing  them  to  wander  about 
in  vague  restlessness.  Joan  had  disap 
peared  ;  Dona  Rosita,  under  an  olive-tree 
in  one  of  the  deserted  paths,  and  attended 
by  the  faithful  Ezekiel,  had  said  it  was 
"earthquake  weather,"  and  recalled,  with 
a  sign  of  the  cross,  a  certain  dreadful  day 
of  her  childhood,  when  el  temblor  had  shaken 
down  one  of  the  Mission  towers.  "  You  shall 
see  it  now,  as  he  have  left  it  so  it  has  re 
main  always,"  she  added  with  superstitious 
gravity. 

"  That  's  just  the  lazy  shiftlessness  of 
your  folks,"  responded  Ezekiel  with  prompt 
ungallantry.  "  It  ain't  no  wonder  the  Lord 
Almighty  hez  to  stir  you  up  now  and  then 
to  keep  you  goin'." 


172     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Dona  Rosita  gazed  at  him  with  simple 
childish  pity.  "  Poor  man  ;  it  have  affect 
you  also  in  the  head,  this  weather.  So ! 
It  was  even  so  with  the  uncle  of  my  father. 
Hush  up  yourself,  and  bring  to  me  the  box 
of  chocolates  of  my  table.  I  will  gif  to  you 
one.  You  shall  for  one  time  have  something 
pleasant  on  the  end  of  your  tongue,  even  if 
you  must  swallow  him  after." 

Ezekiel  grinned.  "  Ye  ain't  afraid  o'  bein' 
left  alone  with  the  ghost  that  haunts  the 
garden,  Miss  Rosita?" 

"  After  you  —  never-r-r." 

"  I  '11  find  Mrs.  Demorest  and  send  her 
to  ye,"  said  Ezekiel,  hesitatingly. 

"  Eh,  to  attract  here  the  ghost  ?  Thank 
you,  no,  very  mooch." 

Ezekiel' s  face  contracted  until  nothing  but 
his  bright  peering  gray  eyes  could  be  seen. 
"  Attract  the  ghost !  "  he  echoed.  "  Then 
you  kalkilate  that  it's  "  —  he  stopped,  in 
sinuatingly. 

Rosita  brought  her  fan  sharply  over  his 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     173 

knuckles,  and  immediately  opened  it  again 
over  her  half  embarrassed  face.  "I  com 
prehend  not  anything  to  '  ekalkilate.'  Will 
you  go,  Don  Fantastico ;  or  is  it  for  me  to 
bring  to  you?" 

Ezekiel  flew.  He  quickly  found  the  choco 
lates  and  returned,  but  was  disconcerted  on 
arriving  under  the  olive-tree  to  find  Dona 
Rosita  no  longer  in  the  hammock.  He 
turned  into  a  by-path,  where  an  extraor 
dinary  circumstance  attracted  his  attention. 
The  air  was  perfectly  still,  but  the  leaves 
of  a  manzanita  bush  near  the  misshapen 
cactus  were  slightly  agitated.  Presently 
Ezekiel  saw  the  stealthy  figure  of  a  man 
emerge  from  behind  it  and  approach  the 
cactus.  Reaching  his  hand  cautiously  to 
wards  the  plant,  the  stranger  detached  some 
thing  from  one  of  its  thorns,  and  instantly 
disappeared.  The  quick  eyes  of  Ezekiel 
had  seen  that  it  was  a  letter,  his  unerring 
perception  of  faces  recognized  at  the  same 
moment  that  the  intruder  was  none  other 


174     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

than  the  handsome,  reckless-looking  man  he 
had  seen  the  other  day  in  conference  with 
Mateo. 

But  Ezekiel  was  not  the  only  witness  of 
this  strange  intrusion.  A  few  paces  from 
him,  Dona  Kosita,  unconscious  of  his  return, 
was  gazing  in  a  half-frightened,  breathless 
absorption  in  the  direction  of  the  stranger's 
flight. 

"  Wa'al !  "  drawled  Ezekiel  lazily. 

She  started  and  turned  towards  him.  Her 
face  was  pale  and  alarmed,  and  yet  to  the 
critical  eye  of  Ezekiel  it  seemed  to  wear  an 
expression  of  gratified  relief.  She  laughed 
faintly. 

"  Ef  that 's  the  kind  o'  ghost  you  hev 
about  yer,  it 's  a  healthy  one,"  drawled  Eze 
kiel.  He  turned  and  fixed  his  keen  eyes 
on  Kosita's  face.  "  I  wonder  what  kind  o'- 
fruit  grows  on  the  cactus  that  he  's  so  fond 
of?" 

Either  she  had  not  seen  the  abstraction  of 
the  letter,  or  his  acting  was  perfect,  for  she 


TEE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    175 

returned  his  look  unwaveringly.  "  The  fruit, 
eh?  I  have  not  comprehend." 

"Wa'al,  I  reckon  I  will,"  said  Ezekiel. 
He  walked  towards  the  cactus  ;  there  was 
nothing  to  be  seen  but  its  thorny  spikes.  He 
was  confronted,  however,  by  the  sudden  ap 
parition  of  Joan  from  behind  the  manzanita 
at  its  side.  She  looked  up  and  glanced  from 
Ezekiel  to  Dona  Rosita  with  an  agitated  air. 

" Oh,  you  saw  him  too?  "  she  said  eagerly. 

"I  reckon,"  answered  Ezekiel,  with  his 
eyes  still  on  Rosita.  "  I  was  wondering 
what  on  airth  he  was  so  taken  with  that  air 
cactus  for." 

Rosita  had  become  slightly  pale  again  in 
the  presence  of  her  friend.  Joan  quietly 
pushed  Ezekiel  aside  and  put  her  arm 
around  her.  "Are  you  frightened  again?" 
she  asked,  in  a  low  whisper. 

"  Not  mooch,"  returned  Rosita,  without 
lifting  her  eyes. 

"  It  was  only  some  peon,  trespassing  to 
pick  blossoms  for  his  sweetheart,"  she  said 


176     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

significantly,  with  a  glance  towards  Ezekiel. 
"  Let  us  go  in." 

She  passed  her  hand  through  Rosita's 
passive  arm  and  led  her  towards  the  house, 
Ezekiel's  penetrating  eyes  still  following 
Rosita  with  an  expression  of  gratified  doubt. 

For  once,  however,  that  astute  observer 
was  wrong.  When  Mrs.  Demorest  had 
reached  the  house  she  slipped  into  her  own 
room,  and,  bolting  the  door,  drew  from  her 
bosom  a  letter  which  she  had  picked  from 
the  cactus  thorn,  and  read  it  with  a  flushed 
face  and  eager  eyes. 

It  may  have  been  the  effect  of  the  phenom 
enal  weather,  but  the  next  day  a  malign 
influence  seemed  to  pervade  the  Demorest 
household.  Dona  Eosita  was  confined  to 
her  room  by  an  attack  of  languid  nerves,  su 
perinduced,  as  she  was  still  voluble  enough 
to  declare,  by  the  narcotic  effect  of  some  un 
known  herb  which  the  lunatic  Ezekiel  had 
no  doubt  mysteriously  administered  to  her 
with  a  view  of  experimenting  on  its  proper- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     177 

ties.  She  even  avowed  that  she  must  speed 
ily  return  to  Los  Osos,  before  Ezekiel  should 
further  compromise  her  reputation  by  put 
ting  her  on  a  colored  label  in  place  of  the 
usual  Celestial  Distributer  of  the  Panacea. 
Ezekiel  himself,  who  had  been  singularly 
abstracted  and  reticent,  and  had  absolutely 
foregone  one  or  two  opportunities  of  dis 
agreeable  criticism,  had  gone  to  the  pueblo 
early  that  morning.  The  house  was  com 
paratively  silent  and  deserted  when  Demo- 
rest  walked  into  his  wife's  boudoir. 

It  was  a  pretty  room,  looking  upon  the 
garden,  furnished  with  a  singular  mingling 
of  her  own  inherited  formal  tastes  and  the 
more  sensuous  coloring  and  abandon  of  her 
new  life.  There  were  a  great  many  rugs 
and  hangings  scattered  in  disorder  around 
the  room,  and  apparently  purposeless,  except 
for  color;  there  was  a  bamboo  lounge  as 
large  as  a  divan,  with  two  or  three  cushions 
disposed  on  it,  and  a  low  chair  that  seemed 
the  incarnation  of  indolence.  Opposed  to 


178    THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

this,  on  the  wall,  was  the  rigid  picture  of 
her  grandfather,  who  had  apparently  retired 
with  his  volume  further  into  the  canvas  be 
fore  the  spectacle  of  this  ungodly  opulence ; 
a  large  Bible  on  a  funereal  trestle-like  stand, 
and  the  primmest  and  barest  of  writing- 
table,  before  which  she  was  standing  as  at 
a  sacrificial  altar.  With  an  almost  mechani 
cal  movement  she  closed  her  portfolio  as  her 
husband  entered,  and  also  shut  the  lid  of  a 
small  box  with  a  slight  snap.  This  sug 
gested  exclusion  of  him  from  her  previous 
occupation,  whatever  it  might  have  been, 
caused  a  faint  shadow  of  pain  to  pass  across 
his  loving  eyes.  He  cast  a  glance  at  his 
wife  as  if  mutely  asking  her  to  sit  beside 
him,  but  she  drew  a  chair  to  the  table,  and 
with  her  elbow  resting  on  the  box,  resignedly 
awaited  his  speech. 

"  I  don't  mean  to  disturb  you,  darling," 
he  said,  gently,  "  but  as  we  were  alone,  I 
thought  we  might  have  one  of  our  old-fash 
ioned  talks,  and  "  — 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    179 

"  Don't  let  it  be  so  old-fashioned  as  to 
include  North  Liberty  again,"  she  inter 
rupted,  wearily.  "  We  've  had  quite  enough 
of  that  since  I  returned." 

"  I  thought  you  found  fault  with  me  then 
for  forgetting  the  past.  But  let  that  pass, 
dear ;  it  is  not  our  affairs  I  wanted  to  talk 
to  you  about  now,"  he  said,  stifling  a  sigh, 
"  it 's  about  your  friend.  Please  don't  mis 
understand  what  I  am  going  to  say ;  nor 
that  I  interpose  except  from  necessity." 

She  turned  her  dark  brown  eyes  in  his 
direction,  but  her  glance  passed  abstractedly 
over  his  head  into  the  garden. 

"  It 's  a  matter  perfectly  well  known  to 
me  —  and,  I  fear,  to  all  our  servants  also  — 
that  somebody  is  making  clandestine  visits 
to  our  garden.  I  would  not  trouble  you  be 
fore,  until  I  ascertained  the  object  of  these 
visits.  It  is  quite  plain  to  me  now  that 
Dona  Rosita  is  that  object,  and  that  commu 
nications  are  secretly  carried  on  between  her 
and  some  unknown  stranger.  He  has  been 


180     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

here  once  or  twice  before ;  he  was  here  again 
yesterday.  Ezekiel  saw  him  and  saw  her." 

"Together?"  asked  Mrs.  Demorest, 
sharply. 

"  No ;  but  it  was  evident  that  there  was 
some  understanding,  and  that  some  commu 
nication  passed  between  them." 

"Well?"  said  Mrs.  Demorest,  with  re 
pressed  impatience. 

"It  is  equally  evident,  Joan,  that  this 
stranger  is  a  man  who  does  not  dare  to  ap 
proach  your  friend  in  her  own  house,  nor 
more  openly  in  this  ;  but  who,  with  her  con 
nivance,  uses  us  to  carry  on  an  intrigue 
which  may  be  perfectly  innocent,  but  is  cer 
tainly  compromising  to  all  concerned.  I  am 
quite  willing  to  believe  that  Dona  Rosita  is 
only  romantic  and  reckless,  but  that  will  not 
prevent  her  from  becoming  a  dupe  of  some 
rascal  who  dare  not  face  us  openly,  and  who 
certainly  does  not  act  as  her  equal." 

"  Well,  Rosita  is  no  chicken,  and  you  are 
not  her  guardian." 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    181 

There  was  a  vague  heartlessness,  more  in 
her  voice  than  in  her  words,  that  touched 
him  as  her  cold  indifference  to  himself  had 
never  done,  and  for  an  instant  stung  his 
crushed  spirit  to  revolt.  "No,"  he  said, 
sternly,  "  but  I  am  her  father's  friend,  and 
I  shall  not  allow  his  daughter  to  be  compro 
mised  under  my  roof." 

Her  eyes  sprang  up  to  meet  his  in  hatred 
as  promptly  as  they  once  had  met  in  love. 
"  And  since  when,  Richard  Demorest,  have 
you  become  so  particular?  "  she  began,  with 
dry  asperity.  "  Since  you  lured  me  from 
the  side  of  my  wedded  husband  ?  Since 
you  met  me  clandestinely  in  trains  and 
made  love  to  me  under  an  assumed  name  ? 
Since  you  followed  me  to  my  house  under 
the  pretext  of  being  my  husband's  friend, 
and  forced  me  —  yes,  forced  me  —  to  see 
you  secretly  under  my  mother's  roof  ?  Did 
you  think  of  compromising  me  then  ?  Did 
you  think  of  ruining  my  reputation,  of  driv 
ing  my  husband  from  his  home  in  despair  ? 


182    THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Did  you  call  yourself  a  rascal  then  ?  Did 
you"- 

"  Stop !  "  he  said,  in  a  voice  that  shook 
the  rafters  ;  "  I  command  you,  stop  !  " 

She  had  gradually  worked  herself  from  a 
deliberately  insulting  precision  into  an  hys 
terical,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  a  virtuous, 
conviction  of  her  wrongs.  Beginning  only 
with  the  instinct  to  taunt  and  wound  the 
man  before  her,  she  had  been  led  by  a  se 
cret  consciousness  of  something  else  he  did 
not  know  to  anticipate  his  reproach  and 
justify  herself  in  a  wild  feminine  abandon 
ment  of  emotion.  But  she  stopped  at  his 
words.  For  a  moment  she  was  even  thrilled 
again  by  the  strength  and  imperiousness  she 
had  loved. 

They  were  facing  each  other  after  five 
years  of  mistaken  passion,  even  as  they  had 
faced  each  other  that  night  in  her  mother's 
kitchen.  But  the  grave  of  that  dead  passion 
yawned  between  them.  It  was  Joan  who 
broke  the  silence,  that  after  her  single  out 
burst  seemed  to  fill  and  oppress  the  room. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.   183 

"  As  far  as  Rosita  is  concerned,"  she  said, 
with  affected  calmness,  "she  is  going  to 
night.  And  you  probably  will  not  be  trou 
bled  any  longer  by  your  mysterious  visitor." 
Whether  he  heeded  the  sarcastic  signifi 
cance  of  her  last  sentence,  or  even  heard  her 
at  all,  he  did  not  reply.  For  a  moment  he 
turned  his  blazing  eyes  full  upon  her,  and 
then  without  a  word  strode  from  the  room. 

She  walked  to  the  door  and  stood  uneasily 
listening  in  the  passage  until  she  heard  the 
clatter  of  hoofs  in  the  paved  patio,  and 
knew  that  he  had  ordered  his  horse.  Then 
she  turned  back  relieved  to  her  room. 

It  was  already  sunset  when  Demorest 
drew  rein  again  at  the  entrance  of  the  corral, 
and  the  last  stroke  of  the  Angelus  was  ring 
ing  from  the  Mission  tower.  He  looked 
haggard  and  exhausted,  and  his  horse  was 
flecked  with  foam  and  dirt.  Wherever  he 
had  been,  or  for  what  object,  or  whether  ob 
jectless  and  dazed,  he  had  simply  sought  to 
lose  himself  in  aimlessly  wandering  over  the 


184    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

dry  yellow  hills  or  in  careering  furiously 
among  his  own  wild  cattle  on  the  arid,  brit 
tle  plain  ;  whether  he  had  beaten  all  thought 
from  his  brain  with  the  jarring  leap  of  his 
horse,  or  whether  he  had  pursued  some 
vague  and  elusive  determination  to  his  own 
door,  is  not  essential  to  this  brief  chronicle. 
Enough  that  when  he  dismounted  he  drew 
a  pistol  from  his  holster  and  replaced  it  in 
his  pocket. 

He  had  just  pushed  open  the  gate  of  the 
corral  as  he  led  in  his  horse  by  the  bridle, 
when  he  noticed  another  horse  tethered 
among  some  cotton  woods  that  shaded  the 
outer  wall  of  his  garden.  As  he  gazed,  the 
figure  of  a  man  swung  lightly  from  one  of 
the  upper  boughs  of  a  cotton-wood  on  the 
wall  and  disappeared  on  the  other  side.  It 
was  evidently  the  clandestine  visitor.  Dem- 
orest  was  in  no  mood  for  trifling.  Hur 
riedly  driving  his  horse  into  the  enclosure 
with  a  sharp  cut  of  his  riata,  he  closed  the 
gate  upon  him,  slipped  past  the  intervening 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    185 

space  into  the  patio,  and  then  unnoticed  into 
the  upper  part  of  the  garden.  Taking  a 
narrow  by-path  in  the  direction  of  the  cot 
ton  woods  that  could  be  seen  above  the  wall, 
he  presently  came  in  sight  of  the  object  of 
his  search  moving  stealthily  towards  the 
house.  It  was  the  work  of  a  moment  only 
to  dash  forward  and  seize  him,  to  find  him 
self  engaged  in  a  sharp  wrestle,  to  half  draw 
his  pistol  as  he  struggled  with  his  captive  in 
the  open.  But  once  in  the  clearer  light,  he 
started,  his  grasp  of  the  stranger  relaxed, 
and  he  fell  back  in  bewildered  terror. 
"  Edward  Blandford !  Good  God  !  " 
The  pistol  had  dropped  from  his  hand  as 
he  leaned  breathless  against  a  tree.  The 
stranger  kicked  the  weapon  contemptuously 
aside.  Then  quietly  adjusting  his  disor 
dered  dress,  and  picking  the  brambles  from 
his  sleeve,  he  said  with  the  same  air  of  dis 
dain,  "  Yes  !  Edward  Blandford,  whom  you 
thought  dead !  There  I  I  'm  not  a  ghost  — 
though  you  tried  to  make  me  one  this  time," 
he  said,  pointing  to  the  pistol. 


186     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Demorest  passed  his  hand  across  his 
white  face.  "  Then  it's  you  —  and  you  have 
come  here  for  —  for  —  Joan  ?  " 

"  For  Joan  ?  "  echoed  Blandford,  with  a 
quick  scornful  laugh,  that  made  the  blood 
flow  back  into  Demorest's  face  as  from  a 
blow,  and  recalled  his  scattered  senses. 
"  For  Joan,"  he  repeated.  "  Not  much  !  " 

The  two  men  were  facing  each  other 
in  irreconcilable  yet  confused  antagonism. 
Both  were  still  excited  and  combative  from 
their  late  physical  struggle,  but  with  feel 
ings  so  widely  different  that  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  either  to  have  compre 
hended  the  other.  In  the  figure  that  had 
apparently  risen  from  the  dead  to  confront 
him,  Demorest  only  saw  the  man  he  had  un 
consciously  wronged  —  the  man  who  had  it 
in  his  power  to  claim  Joan  and  exact  a  ter 
rible  retribution  !  But  it  was  part  of  this 
monstrous  and  irreconcilable  situation  that 
Blandford  had  ceased  to  contemplate  it,  and 
in  his  preoccupation  only  saw  the  actual  in- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    187 

terference   of   a   man   whom  he  no  longer 
hated,  but  had  begun  to  pity  and  despise. 

He  glanced  coolly  around  him.  "  What 
ever  we  've  got  to  say  to  each  other,"  he 
said  deliberately,  "  had  better  not  be  over 
heard.  At  least  what  /  have  got  to  say  to 
you." 

CHAPTER  V. 

DEMOKEST,  now  as  self-possessed  as  his 
adversary,  haughtily  waved  his  hand  towards 
the  path.  They  walked  on  in  silence,  with 
out  even  looking  at  each  other,  until  they 
reached  a  small  summer-house  that  stood  in 
the  angle  of  the  wall.  Demorest  entered. 
"  We  cannot  be  heard  here,"  he  said  curtly. 

"  And  we  can  see  what  is  going  on.  Good," 
said  Blandford,  coolly  following  him.  The 
summer-house  contained  a  bench  and  a  table. 
Blandford  seated  himself  on  the  bench. 
Demorest  remained  standing  beside  the  table. 
There  was  a  moment's  silence. 


188     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

"  I  came  here  with  no  desire  to  see  you 
or  avoid  you,"  said  Blandford,  with  cold  in 
difference.  "  A  few  weeks  ago  I  might  per 
haps  have  avoided  you,  for  your  own  sake. 
But  since  then  I  have  learned  that  among 
the  many  things  I  owe  to  —  to  your  wife  is 
the  fact  that  five  years  ago  she  secretly  di 
vorced  me,  and  that  consequently  my  living 
presence  could  neither  be  a  danger  nor  a 
menace  to  you.  I  see,"  he  added,  dryly,  with 
a  quick  glance  at  Demorest's  horror-stricken 
face,  "  that  I  was  also  told  the  truth  when 
they  said  you  were  as  ignorant  of  the  divorce 
as  I  was." 

He  stopped,  half  in  pity  of  his  adversary's 
shame,  half  in  surprise  of  his  own  calmness. 
Five  years  before,  in  the  tumultuous  con 
sciousness  of  his  wrongs,  he  would  have 
scarcely  trusted  himself  face  to  face  with  the 
cooler  and  more  self -controlled  Demorest. 
He  wondered  at  and  partly  admired  his  own 
coolness  now,  in  the  presence  of  his  enemy's 
confusion. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    189 

"  As  your  mind  is  at  rest  on  that  point," 
he  continued,  sarcastically,  u  I  don't  suppose 
you  care  to  know  what  became  of  me  when 
I  left  North  Liberty.  But  as  it  happens  to 
have  something  to  do  with  my  being  here 
to-night,  and  is  a  part  of  my  business  with 
you,  you  '11  have  to  listen  to  it.  Sit  down ! 
Very  well,  then  —  stand  up !  It 's  your  own 
house." 

His  half  cynical,  wholly  contemptuous  ig 
noring  of  the  real  issue  between  them  was 
more  crushing  to  Demorest  than  the  keenest 
reproach  or  most  tragic  outburst.  He  did 
not  lift  his  eyes  as  Blandford  resumed  in  a 
dry,  business-like  way : 

"  When  I  came  across  the  plains  to  Cali 
fornia,  I  fell  in  with  a  man  about  my  own 
age  —  an  emigrant  also.  I  suppose  I  looked 
and  acted  like  a  crazy  fool  through  all  the 
journey,  for  he  satisfied  himself  that  I  had 
some  secret  reason  for  leaving  the  States, 
and  suspected  that  I  was,  like  himself  —  a 
criminal.  I  afterwards  learned  that  he  was 


190     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

an  escaped  thief  and  assassin.  Well,  he 
played  upon  me  all  the  way  here,  for  I  did  n't 
care  to  reveal  my  real  trouble  to  him,  lest  it 
should  get  back  to  North  Liberty  "  —  He  in 
terrupted  himself  with  a  sarcastic  laugh. 
"Of  course,  you  understand  that  all  this 
while  Joan  was  getting  her  divorce  unknown 
to  me,  and  you  were  marrying  her  —  yet  as 
/  did  n't  know  anything  about  it  I  let  him 
compromise  me  to  save  her.  But" — he 
stopped,  his  eye  kindled,  and,  losing  his  self- 
control  in  what  to  Demorest  seemed  some 
incoherent  passion,  went  on  excitedly :  "  that 
man  continued  his  persecution  here  —  yes, 
here,  in  this  very  house,  where  I  was  a  trusted 
and  honored  guest,  and  threatened  to  expose 
me  to  a  pure,  innocent,  simple  girl  who  had 
taken  pity  on  me  —  unless  I  helped  him  in  a 
conspiracy  of  cattle-stealers  and  road  agents, 
of  which  he  was  chief.  I  was  such  a  cursed 
sentimental  fool  then,  that  believing  him 
capable  of  doing  this,  believing  myself  still 
the  husband  of  that  woman,  your  wife,  and 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    191 

to  spare  that  innocent  girl  the  shame  of 
thinking  me  a  villain,  I  purchased  his  silence 
by  consenting.  May  God  curse  me  for  it !  " 
He  had  started  to  his  feet  with  flashing 
eyes,  and  the  indication  of  an  overmastering 
passion  that  to  Demorest,  absorbed  only  in 
the  stupefying  revelation  of  his  wife's  di 
vorce  and  the  horrible  doubt  it  implied, 
seemed  utterly  vacant  and  unmeaning.  He 
had  often  dreamed  of  Blandford  as  standing 
before  him,  reproachful,  indignant,  and  even 
desperate  over  his  wife's  unfaithfulness ;  but 
this  insane  folly  and  fury  over  some  trivial 
wrong  done  to  that  plump,  baby-faced,  flirt 
ing  Dona  Rosita,  crushed  him  by  its  uncon 
scious  but  degrading  obliteration  of  Joan 
and  himself  more  than  the  most  violent  de 
nunciation.  Dazed  and  bewildered,  yet  with 
the  instinct  of  a  helpless  man,  he  clung  only 
to  that  part  of  Blandford's  story  which  in 
dicated  that  he  had  come  there  for  Rosita, 
and  not  to  separate  him  from  Joan,  and  even 
turned  to  his  former  friend  with  a  half- 


192    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

embarrassed  gesture  of  apology  as  he  stam 
mered  — 

"  Then  it  was  you  who  were  Rosita's  lover, 
and  you  who  have  been  here  to  see  her.  For 
give  me,  Ned — if  I  had  only  known  it." 
He  stopped  and  timidly  extended  his  hand. 
But  Blandford  put  it  aside  with  a  cold  ges 
ture  and  folded  his  arms. 

"  You  have  forgotten  all  you  ever  knew  of 
me,  Demorest !  /  am  not  in  the  habit  of 
making  clandestine  appointments  with  help 
less  women  whose  natural  protectors  I  dare 
not  face,  /have  never  pursued  an  innocent 
girl  to  the  house  I  dared  not  enter.  When 
I  found  that  I  could  not  honorably  retain 
Dona  Rosita's  affection,  I  fled  her  roof. 
When  I  believed  that  even  if  I  broke  with 
this  scoundrel  —  as  I  did  —  I  was  still  legally 
if  not  morally  tied  to  your  wife,  and  could 
not  marry  Rosita,  I  left  her  never  to  return. 
And  I  tore  my  heart  out  to  do  it." 

The  tears  were  standing  in  his  eyes.  Dem 
orest  regarded  him  again  with  vacant  won- 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    193 

der.  Tears !  —  not  for  Joan's  unfaithfulness 
to  him  —  but  for  this  silly  girl's  transitory 
sentimentalism.  It  was  horrible ! 

And  yet  what  was  Joan  to  Blandf  ord  now  ? 
Why  should  he  weep  for  the  woman  who 
had  never  loved  him  —  whom  he  loved  no 
longer?  The  woman  who  had  deceived  him 

—  who  had  deceived  them  both.     Yes!  for 
Joan   must  have  suspected  that    Blandford 
was  living  to  have  sought  her  secret  divorce 

—  and  yet  she  had  never  told  him  —  him  — 
the  man  for  whom  she  got  it.     Ah!  he  must 
not  forget  that!     It  was  to  marry  him  that 
she  had  taken  that  step.     It  was  perhaps  a 
foolish   caution  —  a   mistaken    reservation  ; 
but  it  was  the  folly  —  the  mistake  of  a  loving 
woman.     He  hugged  this  belief  the  closer, 
albeit  he  was  conscious  at  the  same  time  of 
following  Blandford's  story  of  his  alienated 
affection  with  a  feeling  of  wonder  and  envy. 

"  And  what  was  the  result  of  this  touching 
sacrifice?"  continued  Blandford,  trying  to 
resume  his  former  cynical  indifference.  "  I  '11 


194     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

tell  you.  This  scoundrel  set  himself  about 
to  supplant  me.  Taking  advantage  of  my 
absence,  his  knowledge  that  her  affection  for 
me  was  heightened  by  the  mystery  of  my 
life,  and  trusting  to  profit  by  a  personal 
resemblance  he  is  said  to  bear  to  me,  he 
began  to  haunt  her.  Lately  he  has  grown 
bolder,  and  he  dared  even  to  communicate 
with  her  here.  For  it  is  he,"  he  continued, 
again  giving  way  to  his  passion,  "  this  dog, 
this  sneaking  coward,  who  visits  the  place 
unknown  to  you,  and  thinks  to  entrap  the 
poor  girl  through  her  memory  of  me.  And 
it  is  he  that  I  came  here  to  prevent,  to  ex 
pose  —  if  necessary  to  kill !  Don't  misun 
derstand  me.  I  have  made  myself  a  deputy 
of  the  law  for  that  purpose.  I  've  a  warrant 
in  my  pocket,  and  I  shall  take  him,  this 
mongrel,  half-breed  Cherokee  Bob,  by  fair 
means  or  foul !  " 

The  energy  and  presence  of  his  passion 
was  so  infectious  that  it  momentarily  swept 
away  Demorest's  doubts  of  the  past.  "  And 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.   195 

I  will  help  you,  before  God,  Blandford,"  he 
said  eagerly.  "  And  Joan  shall,  too.  She 
will  find  out  from  Rosita  how  far  "  — 

"Thank  you,"  interrupted  Blandford, 
dryly ;  "  but  your  wife  has  already  interfered 
in  this  matter,  to  my  cost.  It  is  to  her,  I 
believe,  I  owe  this  wretch's  following  Rosita 
here.  She  already  knows  this  man  —  has 
met  him  twice  in  San  Francisco;  he  even 
boasts  of  your  jealousy.  You  know  best 
how  far  he  lied." 

But  Demorest  had  braced  himself  against 
the  chill  sensation  that  had  begun  to  creep 
over  him  as  Blandford  spoke.  He  nerved 
himself  and  said,  proudly,  "  I  forbade  her 
knowing  him  on  account  of  his  reputation 
solely.  I  have  no  reason  to  believe  she  has 
ever  even  wished  to  disobey  me." 

A  smile  of  scorn  that  had  kindled  in 
Blandford's  eyes,  darkened  with  a  swift 
shadow  of  compassion  as  he  glanced  at  Dem- 
orest's  hard,  ashen  face.  He  held  out  his 
hand  with  a  sudden  impulse.  "Enough,  I 


196    THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

accept  your  offer,  and  shall  put  it  to  the  test 
this  very  night.  I  know —  if  you  do  not  — 
that  Kosita  is  to  leave  here  for  Los  Osos  an 
hour  from  now  in  a  private  carriage,  which 
your  wife  has  ordered  especially  for  her.  The 
same  information  tells  me  that  this  villain 
and  another  of  his  gang  will  be  in  wait  for 
the  carriage  three  miles  out  of  the  pueblo 
to  attack  it  and  carry  off  the  young  girl." 

"Are  you  mad!  "  said  Demorest,  in  un 
feigned  amazement.  "  Do  you  believe  them 
capable  of  attacking  a  private  carriage  and 
carrying  off  a  solitary,  defenceless  woman  ? 
Come,  Blandford,  this  is  a  school-girl  ro 
mance  —  not  an  act  of  mercenary  highway 
men —  least  of  all  Cherokee  Bob  and  his 
gang.  This  is  some  madness  of  Eosita's, 
surely,"  he  continued  with  a  forced  laugh. 

"  Does  this  mean  that  you  think  better  of 
your  promise?  "  asked  Blandford,  dryly. 

"  I  said  I  was  at  your  service,"  said  Dem 
orest,  reproachfully. 

"  Then  hear  my  plan  to  prevent  it,  and  yet 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    197 

take  that  dog  in  the  act,"  said  Blandford. 
"  But  we  must  first  wait  here  till  the  last  mo 
ment  to  ascertain  if  he  makes  any  signal  to 
show  that  his  plan  is  altered,  or  that  he  has  dis 
covered  he  is  watched."  He  turned,  and  in 
his  preoccupation  laid  his  hand  for  an  instant 
upon  Demorest's  shoulder  with  the  absent 
familiarity  of  old  days.  Unconscious  as  the 
action  was,  it  thrilled  them  both  —  from  its 
very  unconsciousness  —  and  impelled  them 
to  throw  themselves  into  the  new  alliance 
with  such  feverish  and  excited  activity  in 
order  to  preclude  any  dangerous  alien  reflec 
tion,  that  when  they  rose  a  few  moments 
later  and  cautiously  left  the  garden  arm-in 
arm  through  the  outer  gates,  no  one  would 
have  believed  they  had  ever  been  estranged, 
least  of  all  the  clever  woman  who  had  sep 
arated  them. 

It  was  nearly  nine'  o'clock  when  the  two 
friends,  accompanied  by  the  sheriff  of  the 
county,  left  San  Buenaventura  turnpike  and 


198    THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

turned  into  a  thicket  of  alders  to  wait  the 
corning  of  the  carriage  they  were  to  hence 
forth  follow  cautiously  and  unseen  in  a 
parallel  trail  to  the  main  road.  The  moon 
had  risen,  and  with  it  the  long  withheld 
wind  that  now  swept  over  the  distant  stretch 
of  gleaming  road  and  partly  veiled  it  at 
times  with  flying  dust  unchecked  by  any 
dew  from  the  clear  cold  sky.  Demorest 
shivered  even  with  his  ready  hand  on  his 
revolver.  Suddenly  the  sheriff  uttered  an 
exclamation  of  disgust. 

"Blasted  if  thar  ain't  some  one  in  the 
road  between  us  and  their  ambush." 

"  It 's  one  of  their  gang  —  scouting.  Lie 
close." 

"Scout  be  darned.  Look  at  him  buck 
ing  round  there  in  the  dust.  He  can't  even 
ride  !  It 's  some  blasted  greenhorn  taking 
a  pasear  on  a  hoss  for  the  first  time.  Dam 
nation  !  he 's  ruined  everything.  They'll 
take  the  alarm." 

"  I  '11  push  on  and  clear  him   out,"  said 


THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    199 

Blandford,  excitedly.    "  Even  if  they  're  off, 
I  may  yet  get  a  shot  at  the  Cherokee." 

"  Quick  then,"  said  Demorest,  "  for  here 
comes  the  carriage."  He  pointed  to  a  dark 
spot  on  the  road  occasionally  emerging  from 
the  driven  dust  clouds. 

In  another  moment  Blandford  was  at  the 
heels  of  the  awkward  horseman,  who  wheeled 
clumsily  at  his  approach  and  revealed  the 
lank  figure  of  Ezekiel  Corwin  ! 

"  You  here !  "  said  Blandford,  in  stupe 
fied  fury. 

"  Wa'al,  yes,  squire,"  said  Ezekiel  lazily, 
in  spite  of  his  uneasy  seat.  "  I  kalkilated  ef 
there  was  suthin'  goin'  on,  I  'd  like  to  see 
it." 

"  You  cursed  prying  fool !  you  've  spoiled 
all.  There  !  "  he  shouted  despairingly,  as 
the  quick  clatter  of  hoofs  rang  from  the  ar- 
royo  behind  them,  "  there  they  go  !  That 's 
your  work,  blockhead  !  Out  of  my  way,  or 
by  God" —  but  the  sentence  was  left  un 
finished,  as  joined  by  the  sheriff,  who  had 


200    THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

galloped  up  at  the  sound  of  the  robbers' 
flight,  he  darted  past  the  unconcerned  Eze- 
kiel.  Demorest  would  have  followed,  but 
Blandford,  with  a  warning  cry  to  him  to 
remain  and  protect  the  carriage,  halted  him 
at  the  side  of  Corwin  as  the  vehicle  now 
rapidly  approached. 

But  Ezekiel  was  before  him  even  then, 
and  as  the  driver  pulled  up,  that  inquiring 
man  tumbled  from  his  horse,  ran  to  the  door 
and  opened  it.  Demorest  rode  up,  glanced 
into  the  carriage,  and  fell  back  in  blank 
amazement. 

It  was  his  wife  who  was  sitting  there 
alone,  pale,  erect,  and  beautiful.  By  some 
illusion  of  the  moonlight,  her  face  and 
figure,  covered  with  soft  white  wrappings 
for  a  journey,  looked  as  he  remembered  to 
have  seen  her  the  first  night  they  had  met 
in  the  Boston  train.  The  picture  was  com 
pleted  by  the  travelling  bag  and  rug  that 
lay  on  the  seat  before  her.  Another  ter 
rible  foreboding  seized  him  ;  his  brain 
reeled.  Was  he  going  mad  ? 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.    201 

"  Joan  !  "  he  stammered.  "  You  ?  What 
is  the  meaning  of  this  ?  " 

Ezekiel  —  whom  but  for  his  dazed  con 
dition  he  might  have  seen  violently  con 
torting  his  features  in  Joan's  face,  pre 
sumably  in  equal  astonishment  —  broke  into 
a  series  of  discordant  chuckles. 

"Wa'al,  ef  that  ain't  Deacon  Salis 
bury's  darter  all  over.  Ha!  Here  are  ye 
two  men  folks  makin'  no  end  o'  fuss  to 
save  that  Mexican  gal  with  pistols  and  am 
bushes  and  plots  and  counter-plots,  and 
yer's  Joan  Salisbury  shows  ye  the  way 
ha'ow  to  do  it.  And  so,  ma'am,  you  suc 
ceeded  in  fixin'  it  up  with  Dona  Rosita  to 
take  her  place  andr  just  sell  them  robbers 
cheap?  Wa'al,  ma'am,  yer  sold  this  yer 
party,  too  —  for  "  —  he  advanced  his  face 
close  to  hers  —  "I  never  let  on  a  word, 
though  /  knew  it,  and  although  they  nearly 
knocked  me  off  my  hoss  in  their  fuss  and 
fury.  Ha!  ha!  They  wanted  to  know 
what  /  was  doin'  here  !  he-he  !  Tell  'em, 
Joan,  tell  'em." 


202    THE  ARGONAUTS   OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

Demorest  gazed  from  one  to  another  with 
a  troubled  face,  yet  one  on  which  a  faint 
relief  was  breaking.  "  What  does  he  mean, 
Joan?  Speak,"  he  said,  almost  implor 
ingly. 

Joan,  whose  color  was  slightly  returning, 
drew  herself  up  with  her  old  cold  Puritan 
precision.  "  After  the  scene  you  made  this 
morning,  Richard,  when  you  chose  to  ac 
cuse  your  wife  of  unfaithfulness  to  her 
friend,  her  guest,  and  even  your  reputa 
tion,  I  resolved  to  go  myself  with  Dona 
Rosita  to  Los  Osos  and  explain  the  matter 
to  her  father.  Some  rumor  of  the  ridicu 
lous  farce  I  have  just  witnessed  reached 
us  through  Ezekiel,  and  frightened  the  poor 
girl  so  that  she  declined  —  and  properly, 
too  —  to  face  the  hoax  which  you  and  some 
nameless  impersonator  of  a  disgraced  fugi 
tive  have  gotten  up  for  purposes  of  your 
own  !  I  wish  you  joy  of  your  work !  If  the 
play  is  over  now,  I  presume  I  may  be  al 
lowed  to  proceed  on  my  journey  ?  " 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     203 

"Not  yet,"  said  Demorest,  slowly,  with 
a  face  over  which  the  chasing  doubts  had 
at  last  settled  in  a  grayish  pallor.  "Be 
lieve  what  you  like,  misunderstand  me  if 
you  will,  laugh  at  the  danger  you  perhaps 
comprehend  better  than  I  do,  but  upon  this 
road,  wherever  or  to  whatever  it  was  leading 
yOU  —  to-night  you  go  no  further  ! 

"Then  I  suppose  I  may  return  home," 
she  said,  coldly.  "  Ezekiel  will  accompany 
me  back  to  protect  me  from  —  robbers. 
Come,  Ezekiel.  Mr.  Demorest  and  his 
friends  can  be  safely  trusted  to  take  care 
of  __  your  horse."  And  as  the  grinning 
Ezekiel  sprang  into  the  carriage  beside 
her,  she  pulled  up  the  glass  in  the  fate 
ful  and  set  face  of  her  once  trusting  hus 
band;  the  carriage  turned  and  drove  off, 
leaving  him  like  a  statue  in  the  road. 

The  bell  of  the  North  Liberty  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  had  just  ceased  ring 
ing.  But  in  the  last  five  years  it  had  rung 


204     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

out  the  bass  viol  and  harmonium,  and  rung 
in  an  organ  and  choir  ;  and  the  old  austere 
interior  had  been  subjected  at  the  hands 
of  the  rising  generation  to  an  invasion  of 
youthful  warmth  and  color.  Nowhere  was 
this  more  apparent  than  in  the  choir  itself, 
where  the  bright  spring  sunshine,  piercing 
a  newly-opened  stained-glass  window,  picked 
out  the  new  spring  bonnet  of  Mrs.  Demo- 
rest  and  settled  upon  it  during  the  singing 
of  the  hymn.  Perhaps  that  was  the  reason 
why  a  few  eyes  were  curiously  directed  in 
that  direction,  and  that  even  the  minister 
himself  strayed  from  the  precise  path  of 
doctrine  to  allude  with  ecclesiastical  vague 
ness  to  certain  shining  examples  of  the 
Christian  virtues  that  were  "  again  in  our 
midst."  The  shrewd  face  and  white  eye 
lashes  of  Ezekiel  Corwin,  junior  partner 
in  the  firm  of  Dilworth  &  Dusenberry, 
of  San  Francisco,  were  momentarily  raised 
towards  the  choir,  and  then  relapsed  into 
an  expression  of  fatigued  self -righteousness. 


THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY.     205 

When  the  service  was  over  a  few  worship 
pers  lingered  near  the  choir  staircase,  mind 
ful  of  the  spring  bonnet.  "  It  looks  quite 
nat'ral,"  said  Deacon  Fairchild,  "  ter  see 
Joan  Salisbury  attendin'  the  ministration 
of  the  Word  agin.  And  I  ain't  sorry  she 
did  n't  bring  that  second  Imsband  of  hers 
with  her.  It  kinder  looks  like  old  times  — 
afore  Edward  Blandford  was  gathered  to 
the  Lord." 

"  That 's  so,"  replied  his  auditor,  meekly, 
"  and  they  do  say  ez  ha'ow  Demorest  got 
more  powerful  worldly  and  unregenerate  in 
that  heathen  country,  and  that  Joan  ez  a 
professin'  Christian  had  to  leave  him.  I  've 
heerd  tell  thet  he  'd  got  mixed  up,  out  thar, 
with  some  half-breed  outlaw,  of  the  name 
o'  Johnson,  ez  hez  a  purty,  high-flyin'  Mexi 
can  wife.  It  was  f ort'nit  for  Joan  that  she 
found  a  friend  in  grace  in  Brother  Corwin 
to  look  arter  her  share  in  the  property  and 
bring  her  back  tu  hum." 

"  She 's  lookin'  peart,"    said  Sister  Brad- 


206     THE  ARGONAUTS  OF  NORTH  LIBERTY. 

ley,  "  though  to  my  mind  that  bonnet  savors 
still  o'  heathen  vanities." 

"  Et's  the  new  idees  —  crept  in  with  that 
organ,"  groaned  Deacon  Fairchild  ;  "  but  — 
sho'  —  thar  she  comes." 

She  shone  for  an  instant  —  a  charming 
vision  —  out  of  the  shadow  of  the  choir 
stairs,  and  then  glided  primly  into  the 
street. 

The  old  sexton,  still  in  waiting  with  his 
hand  on  the  half  closed  door,  paused  and 
looked  after  her  with  a  troubled  brow.  A 
singular  and  utterly  incomprehensible  recol 
lection  and  resemblance  had  just  crossed  his 
mind. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

RENEWALS  ONLY— TEL.  NO.  642-3405 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


REG 


cm    MAR  2  7  1979 


